Apostille
What is an Apostille?
An apostille is a seal or stamp of a wide format used to confirm the signature of the official who signed the document. Such a stamp is applied to documents of the new type for use abroad in Apostille countries.
The apostille was introduced in countries that signed the Apostille Convention of 1961. Countries signed the “Apostille” Convention on different dates. Every 3-4 years, 2-3 countries join the convention.
This stamp replaces the complex procedure of consular legalisation, which involves many more deadlines, confirming stamps or seals, and officials’ signatures.
The apostille is usually applied in black or blue ink on the reverse side of the document.
[aux_quote type=”intro-splitter” text_align=”left” quote_symbol=”1″ title=”title” extra_classes=””]An apostille does not confirm the authenticity of the document or its content.
The authenticity and correctness of the document’s content are confirmed by the official’s signature.
An apostille confirms the signature of the official who signed the document.
In Japan and some other countries, it is a certification of the seal of a state authority.
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Please note that the official’s signature confirmed by an apostille does not guarantee the absence of errors in the document.
It should also be borne in mind that in some countries, it is necessary to draw the attention of the officials issuing the document to the fact that this document is intended for an apostille. This is because in some state authorities there are officials whose signature is certified (approved) for documents submitted for an apostille.
In some cases, it is recommended to take precautions and ask for the signature of the head of the institution specifically, for example, a school diploma – by the school principal, not the head teacher.
Furthermore, you should insist on having a genuine wet signature of the authorised person, and not a deputy or a director’s signature “made” by another person.
What is the Hague Convention of 1961?
This is a convention abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents for the Convention’s member states.
The list of countries party to the Hague Convention is constantly expanding, includes countries from different continents of the planet, and as of June 20, 2022, comprises 165 countries. All countries of Europe – both Western and Eastern – have acceded to the Hague Convention.
Apostille handbook translated by our translators (original in English at the link – https://assets.hcch.net/docs/ff5ad106-3573-495b-be94-7d66b7da7721.pdf).