How to get apostille

Public documents like birth certificates, passport copies, judgments, patents, or notarial attestations of signatures may need to be used in foreign countries. However, before a foreign country can use or accept a document issued by a foreign country, it must be authenticated. Typically, authentication of documents is done by a process called legalization wherein the officials of the country where the document was issued as well as the foreign Embassy or Consulate of the country where the document is to be issued authenticate the document. However, as this process is usually slow, cumbersome, and costly, a number of countries have signed the Hague Convention, thereby adopting the Apostille Convention. Apostille makes the authentication of public documents used abroad very simple and easy. In this article, we look at the process of getting a document apostilled.

Apostille

A large number of countries all over the world have joined a treaty that simplifies the authentication of public documents used abroad. This treaty is called the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents or the Apostille Convention. In countries for which the Apostille Convention applies, the treaty reduces the authentication process to a single formality: the issuance of an authentication certificate by an authority designated by the country where the public document was issued. This certificate is called an Apostille.

Authentication of Document - NOT under Apostille Convention

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Authentication of Document under Apostille Convention

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Apostille Certificate

An apostille certificate can be used to authenticate public documents like passport copy, driver's license copy, business documents, judgments, the extract of a register, or a notarial attestation. Apostille certificate can be issued only for documents issued in a country party to the Apostille Convention, and that is to be used in another country, which is also a party to the Apostille Convention.

Countries Accepting Apostille Certificate

For an apostille to be acceptable, the country where the public document was issued, and the country where the document is to be used must be a member of the Apostille Convention. India is a member of the Hague Convention and has thus adopted the Apostille Convention. India can provide apostille documents or can require documents to be apostilled if the documents are from a country that has also adopted the apostille convention. The following are the countries that have adopted the apostille convention.

Albania
Andorra
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burundi
Cape Verde
Chile
China, People's Republic of
Colombia
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Estonia
Fiji
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Grenada
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Ireland
IsraelTitle Page
Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan
Korea, Republic of
Kosovo
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Lesotho
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malawi
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mexico
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Namibia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niue
Norway
Oman
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Republic of Moldova
Romania
Russian Federation
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Serbia
Seychelles
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United States of America
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela

Apostille Requirement for Company Registration

During registration of a company in India involving foreign nationals, the Companies Act 2013 requires the signatures of subscribers and identity/address proof to be notarized before a Notary public of that country and then apostilled as per the Hague Convention if both foreign national provides documents issued by a country listed above. Know more about the procedure for company registration in India with foreign nationals.

Company Registration

OPC Registration