Whether your business conducts international business or you are traveling abroad, official documents need to be verified. The verification process takes many steps and can be very time consuming. Having a trusted document authentication service handle this for you can save you a lot of time, stress and money.

The U.S. federal apostille requirements are based on the 1961 Hague Convention that simplifies the certification of public documents for use in member countries. The process is known as an apostille or certificate of authentication and is usually attached to a document to authenticate the signatures on it.

U.S. Federal Apostille Rules and Documentation Requirements

For example, if you have a college transcript or diploma that needs to be recognized in a foreign country, the institution will typically notarize the record before sending it to you for further processing. Once you have the notarized transcript or diploma, the Secretary of State’s office can provide the state certification required by the jurisdiction in which your document will be used. Then the document can be sent to the Department of State Authentication office for final authentication.

Each state and Department of State has a different process for authenticating documents. You should check with the Department of State that will be receiving your document to determine their specific apostille requirements. If the document is being submitted to a non-member country, it will need to be sent to a consulate in your destination country for full legalization. The fees, requirements, and addresses for each consulate are listed on the Department of State website.