Apostille & Embassy Legalization
The “Apostille” is a certification issued to documents that proves their authenticity and allows them to be used in any country that has ratified the Hague Convention of 1961. The U.S. Department of State provides a list of nations that recognize apostille certificates. An apostille is nothing more than a generic term for a certificate given by the foreign affairs office of a country’s government. To ensure your original document is recognized in a country that is a signatory to the Hague Convention on the Legalization of Foreign Public Documents, you must have that country’s apostille affixed to it.
Click to check: https://www.gsccca.org/notary-and-apostilles/apostilles/hague-apostille-country-list
- Albania
- Andorra
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei Darussalam
- Bulgaria
- Burundi
- Cape Verde
- Chile
- China, People’s Republic of
(Hong Kong & Macao Only) - Colombia
- Cook Islands
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Jamaica
- Kazakhstan
- Korea, Republic of
- Kosovo
- Kyrgyzstan
- Latvia
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malawi
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Moldova, Republic of
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Namibia
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niue North Macedonia, Republic of Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russian Federation
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Suriname
- Swaziland
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Tajikistan
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland - Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
Several nations worked together in 1961 to standardize the process of “legalizing” papers so that they might be recognized across the world. The Hague Convention’s nations involved agreed upon a standardized certification of authenticity for public documents termed an Apostille.
The Apostille Convention streamlines the authentication of public documents (including notarized ones) for use in other nations that are party to it. In order to be valid in any of the participating nations or their territories, documents must be attested to by a local official.
The Document Issued by US Department of State
Apostilles are granted by the U.S. Department of State and may be required for use of federally issued papers in nations that are members of the 1961 Hague Convention. Apostilles from the U.S. Department of State are required for documents signed by the following officials in the United States:
- U.S. federal official
- U.S. consular officer
- A notary public, judge advocate, or foreign consul diplomatic officer registered with the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Protocol who is serving in the armed forces
US State-issued Documents
- Documents issued by a state that are to be used in other Hague Convention signatory nations must be authenticated by that state’s competent authority.
- Documents issued by states that have been affixed with an apostille do not need to be further authenticated by the United States Department of State or by a U.S. embassy or consulate overseas before they can be used in a member nation.
- The United States Department of State does not certify documents issued by other states.
- U.S. Department of State authentication certificates can be used to verify the authenticity of state-issued documents for use in nations that are not signatories to the 1961 Hague Convention. If you need additional information, check see the Authentication Certificate Prerequisites page.
NOTE: As a student, finishing your degree is more important than getting your documents legalized. The Western Global University can help you get an apostille or embassy legalization for documents in your home country. So that you may use your degree without any issues for professional purposes, we get your degrees confirmed by the embassy of your nation, wherever you may be in the globe.