Apostille

An “apostille” is a certificate issued by a designated authority in a country where the a treaty called the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization of Foreign Public Documents applies. See a model Apostille. The apostille consists of 10 elements. The Convention requires that all apostilles be numbered consecutively, with individual numbers applied to each apostille issued. Group or bulk numbers per customer rather than per document are not acceptable.

The Special Commission of the Hague Conference on Private International Law on the Practical Operation of the Hague Legalization Convention (2003) stated in paragraph 13 of its conclusions and recommendations that “apostilles issued by competent authorities should conform as closely as possible to the model certificate. However, variations in the form of an apostille among issuing authorities should not be a basis for rejection as long as the apostille is clearly identifiable as an apostille issued under the convention.” The Special Commission stressed (paragraph 18 of the recommendations and conclusions) that apostilles may not be refused in a State of production (country where the document is to be used) on the grounds that they do not comply with that State’s national formalities and modes of issuance.”