Apostille

An apostille is a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document - a corporate certificate, a notarized signature, a court order, a diploma, a birth certificate - for use in a foreign country that is a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. It replaces the older multi-step chain legalization process (notary, then state, then foreign ministry, then destination embassy) with a single certificate issued by a designated competent authority, usually the Secretary of State in the US or the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCDO) in the UK. The apostille itself is a square stamp or attached page in a standardized format containing 10 numbered fields including the country of origin, name of the signatory, capacity in which they signed, the seal of the issuing authority, the date and place of issue, and a unique serial number. As of 2026, more than 125 countries are parties to the Hague Convention - including all of the EU, the UK, the US, China (since 2023), India, Brazil, Mexico, the UAE, Singapore, Australia, and most of Latin America. Notable non-members include Canada (joined in 2024), some Middle Eastern countries, and a handful of African states; documents going to those destinations still require traditional chain legalization through embassies.

Foreign founders most commonly need apostilled documents when opening a foreign bank account using their US Delaware certificate of incorporation, registering a US C-Corp subsidiary in their home country, signing major cross-border commercial contracts, or applying for residency or a business visa. The typical document chain is: notarized power of attorney or original state certificate -> apostille from the Secretary of State or FCDO -> certified translation in the destination country.