What Is an Apostille? What It Certifies and When You Need One

What an apostille certifies

Say your child was born in the U.S., and you need to submit the birth certificate in another country. The office there may wonder whether the document really comes from a U.S. government office and was signed by someone authorized to sign it. The apostille answers that question.

Under Article 5 of the Convention, an apostille certifies the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing acted, and, where there is one, the seal or stamp on the document. On a California birth certificate, that's usually the signature of a county clerk, a county recorder, or the State Registrar. On a power of attorney, it's the notary's signature.

What it looks like

Article 4 allows the apostille to be placed on the document itself or on a separate sheet attached to it. Placed on the document itself, it may look like a stamp on the back. The California Secretary of State issues a separate sheet and staples it to the document.

You can recognize an apostille in any country by its heading, which the Convention requires in French: Apostille (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961).

What an apostille doesn't do

• It doesn't confirm that the information in the document is correct. The Hague Conference's Apostille Handbook gives an example: an apostille on a birth certificate doesn't mean the name and date of birth in it are accurate.
• It doesn't replace a translation.
• It doesn't fix mistakes. A typo in a name stays a typo after the apostille, and someone may spot it once the document is already abroad.

Where it's accepted

An apostille works between countries that are parties to the Convention. The Convention has been in force for the United States since 1981, and the status table on hcch.net also lists Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Moldova. Countries outside the Convention usually require consular legalization, which is a different procedure.

Even between member countries, the destination country sets its own rules for accepting documents. Before you order, ask the recipient whether your case calls for an apostille and on which document.

Who issues the apostille for a U.S. document

It depends on whose signature needs to be certified. Documents signed by California officials or notarized by a California notary public are apostilled by the California Secretary of State. A document from another state gets its apostille from the state where it was issued or notarized. Federal documents, such as an FBI background check, are apostilled by the U.S. Department of State.

The California Secretary of State issues the same apostille no matter which country the document is going to. We handle California apostilles for $120 per document, state fee included, in 1-3 business days. An apostille for a document from another state is $160, and for an FBI background check it's $250.