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What is an apostille?
An apostille is a certificate that makes a public document valid in another country that belongs to the Hague Apostille Convention.
The Convention is formally the 1961 Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. According to the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), it replaces traditional legalization with a single certificate issued by an official body in the country where the document was created. HCCH
What it does and does not do
- It confirms the authenticity of the signature, the capacity of the person who signed and the seal or stamp on the document.
- It does not confirm that the content of the document is true.
- It is attached to the document; the destination country does not need to check the original office.
Is the country on the list?
Membership is not the same everywhere. Before you pay for an apostille, check the official status table, or our country pages, which show whether each destination accepts an apostille or requires consular legalization instead.