Depending on your destination country, you may need an “Apostille” or “Embassy Legalization.” This article displays the most important information to know the difference between apostille and legalization. This can be confusing because different organizations use different terms, which in most cases refer to the same process. We are often asked what the difference is between legalization and apostille. There are different terms that refer to the process of legalizing a document from one country to be recognized in another. You may have been asked to notarize, legalize, legalize, legalize or apostille your document. To use official documents abroad, they must be legalized. In most cases, legalization takes the form of the Hague Apostille. The apostille is a much easier document than legalizing it. The apostille is just one step, and then you`re done. In the United Kingdom, the apostille is issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, also known as the Legalisation Office. This is often one of the main causes of confusion.
However, if you intend to present your UK document in a country that is part of the Apostille Convention, the terms apostille and legalisation refer to exactly the same process. The document is legalized by issuing the apostille. The purpose of the apostille is to “remove the requirement of diplomatic or consular legalization for foreign public documents”. The completed apostille certifies the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person who signed the document acted and identifies the seal/stamp bearing the document. In The Hague, Netherlands, the Apostille Treaty was signed and approved in 1961 to abolish the legalization requirements for documents and replace them with a uniform “apostille stamp” template. A government-issued document with an apostille does not require additional legalization by the U.S. Department of State or legalization by a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad to be recognized in a participating country. The U.S.
State Department will not issue apostilles for government-issued documents. An apostille is a document issued by a local Secretary of State for countries party to the “Hague Convention on Exemption from the Obligation to Legalise Foreign Public Documents” (the “Hague Convention”) confirming the signature on the underlying official document. Documents issued by the federal government are sent to the U.S. Department of State for an apostille. For a list of Hague Convention member countries, see www.hcch.net. What is authentication and legalization? Authentication is the process that a county, state, or federal official provides to certify the authenticity of a document. The process of certifying documents can be challenging, depending on the jurisdictions involved. This step must be completed before proceeding with the legalization of the document. Legalization is confirmation to further validate a document after it has been authenticated by a local secretary of state or the Foreign Ministry office. Once notarized, the document is taken to the appropriate consulate or embassy, which gives it an authorization – or legalization – stamp so that it can be used in the country of legalization. In most cases, the term legalization refers to a document issued with the correct stamps or certificates to be recognized in another country. As above, this is a document issued with an apostille if the document is used in a country party to the Apostille Convention.
If you have a government-issued document, you can get your apostille from the local State Department in 50 states. Documents issued in the United States and intended for use in a country that is not a signatory to The Hague must be legalized by the local Secretary of State, legalized by the U.S. Department of State, and finally legalized by the embassy of the destination country in Washington DC. You can use the help of a legalization and apostille service provider in the United States.