What is Apostille?

Apostille Service Process:

Apostille is a French word meaning certification. Also referred to as legalization in English, it is a one-page document issued by authorities at the state or Federal level certifying to the authenticity of the document. The document contains an embossed seal by the Secretary of State and/or the US Department of State where applicable.

As per the Hague Convention of 1961, there is a list of countries which require a document to go through the Apostille process prior to being presented. If your document falls under the Apostille process, we will obtain the Secretary of State Apostille certification or the US Department of State Apostille in Washington DC as necessary.

Document Authentication Process:

For countries which are not a signatory party to the Hague Convention of 1961, the documents are required to go through the authentication process certifying the authenticity of the document before being presented.

Very similar to the Apostille stamp process, authentication does require an additional step of Embassy Legalization by the Embassy of the country in which the document is to be presented. After obtaining the US Department of State Seal, we will present your document to the Embassy of the respective country to obtain the final authentication seal. This will be the final step to the completion of the process.