Apostille

From the French, meaning a certification.

A simplified certification of public documents used in countries that participate in a Hague Convention.

If an official document (e.g. birth or marriage certificate) is to be used overseas, it may need to be apostilled. This means that the Notary's signature and seal are certified by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and an apostille or a Legalisation Certificate is then attached to the document. With the apostille, the document is entitled to recognition in the country of intended use, and no further authentication or legalisation by the consulate or embassy of the foreign country where the document is to be used is required.

The simplified apostille form contains numbered fields, which enables the data to be understood by all countries regardless of the official language of the issuing country.

The completed apostille:

• certifies the authenticity of the document's signature
• identifies the seal/stamp that the document bears
• states the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted

Once a document has been notarised and apostilled, it may then need to be legalised by the Consulate of the country in which it will be used, if the country is not party to the Hague Convention.

For example, before a couple can get married, many countries require having the Apostille in order to accept necessary documentation.