There is a lot of information regarting the requirements for the exchange of documents between countries. A lot of people may not know what an apostille is but need to understand what’s used for.
An apostille is the simplified form of authentication of documents used between countries that are active members of the 1961 Hague Convention (Apostille Section).
There is a growing list of countries that are members of this Convention and accept the apostille as a form of international legalization of documents. In the United States, an apostille is always issued by the Department of State.
If your country is not a member that Hague Convention (Apostille Section), the documents need to undergo through the Embassy Legalization process which is how all countries used to legalize documents before the Apostille Section of the Convention was formed.
This Convention is a Treaty that was drafted by the Hague Conference on Private International Law. An apostille is basically a chain of signatures which certify the government official or Notary Public who originally signed the document.
An Apostille is also known as Apostilla which is normally used by Spanish speakers and both terms are used to refer to the same thing.
There are all sorts of eligible documents that are involved with this process. There are court documents, administrative documents, such as civil status documents, notarial acts, and any sorts of educational, none educational, and commercial documents. There is a huge list of countries that are valid in this process and it is a great process that can help people with getting all sorts of documents legalized and signed. If you ever need to know which country belongs to the Hague Convention (Apostille Section), or any countries that may be on their way of doing so you can always access the official Hague Convention link that bears the list of countries and the ratification date: http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.status&cid=41
There are even guidebooks that you can use that help you utilize how you can get started with this process and how the information is passed around other countries. This is an important procedure that many countries should know about and understand. The history behind this type of legalization is a rich one and something that a lot of people need to look up and be sure of. Keep that in mind if you are wondering which country is involved with the treaty as it just may surprise you.
Our team at Documents International LLC has almost 10 years of experience in dealing with Apostilles, Embassy Legalizations and Translations. For more information please contact us at service@apostilla.com
