Three Things You Should Understand About Apostille for Your Document

If you have important documents such as a marriage, birth or death certificate, or any other similar legal document that is required in a foreign country, then you will need to have the signature authenticated. This is referred to as apostille, and if this is a service you require, there are a few things you should understand. The following are a few of them.

You Cannot Use a Copy

By copy, this means that you or someone else cannot make a copy of the original documents and use it for certification. For example, if you do not have a copy of an original birth certificate, but only a copy that was made for you by someone else, this cannot be used. Nor can someone send you a fax of the document. The only copy that can be used is a copy made by the proper government agency. In the case of a birth certificate, it would be a certified copy made by the county government that the individual was born in.

A United States Embassy Cannot Provide Apostille Services

If you are living overseas, you may think this service can be provided by the United States embassy, but this is not the way the system works. The rules and procedures for apostille have been set forth by The Hague Conference in Europe, and they are specific. In the United States, this certification can only be done by the Secretary of State from each state in the nation. There are no alternatives.

An Apostille of Foreign Documents Cannot Be Done By the Secretary of State

Although it is your state government, specifically the office of the Secretary of State, that has the sole authority to authentic documents for presentation to foreign governments, they cannot authenticate foreign documents. These must be authenticated by the government that issued them. For example, if you require an apostille of a birth certificate from Italy, it is the government of Italy that must do this. Again, this is according to the rules that have been set forth by The Hague Conference.

If you require an apostille of a document for a foreign county, you will not be able to use a copy, other than an official copy issued by the appropriate government. The authentication of the document and the signature must be done by the Secretary of State of the state you live in. If you need to authenticate a document from a foreign nation, it must be done by that government. Keep in mind, there are businesses, including online apostille service companies, that will prepare everything properly, then submit it to the Secretary of State of the state you reside in.

Contact an apostille service if you are in need of online apostille solutions.