Apostille Services

Confused about whether you need an Apostille or if you need to go through the Embassy process to legalize your documents?

Please read below before submitting your documents.
If your country is a member of the Hague Convention which was held in 1961 and served to abolish the legalization of foreign public documents, then you will need an Apostille for your documents.

However, If you have a document that needs to be authenticated for use in a country where the Apostille Convention is not in force, then your documents must be processed through the appropriate Embassy for legalization.

Visit the link to see if your country is a member of the Hague Convention: www.hcch.net/en/home

In order to translate your completed documents, please download and complete our Translation Request Form.

Apostille & Embassy Authentication Services

When a document is to be used in a foreign country, it may be necessary to have it Legalized or Authenticated by a Consulate or Embassy. This process is necessary for countries that are not members of the Hague/Apostille Convention. Documents are typically Legalized by the Consulate or Embassy of the country where your document will be submitted. Legalization is a series of authentications starting with the Notarization of your document(s) and ending with the Embassy or Consulate’s validation of your document(s).

The Go To Notary makes the Legalization process for international documents simple and convenient.

5 Easy Steps To Get Your Documents Legalized

Step 1 – Schedule an appointment to have one of our Mobile Notaries come and Notarize your document(s) and collect them for processing.

Step 2 – We have the signature of the notary authenticated by the county clerk’s office in which the notary signature is registered (this step is not necessary in all states or for all documents).

Step 3 – We have the document(s) Certified by the Department or Secretary of State.

Step 4 – We mail the document(s) to the Legalization/Authentication Section of the Embassy or Consulate for their officials verify the signatures and markings on the document(s) and affix their own authentication which formally recognizes the document(s) as valid and legally effective for use in that country.

Step 5 – We deliver or ship your documents back to you. At your request we can also ship your documents anywhere in the world.

An Apostille is a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document (e.g., a birth, marriage or death certificate, a judgment, an extract of a register or a notarial attestation). Apostilles can only be issued for documents issued in one country party to the Apostille Convention and that are to be used in another country which is also a party to the Convention.

You will need an Apostille if all of the following apply:

• the country where the document was issued is
• party to the Apostille Convention; and
• the country in which the document is to be used is
• party to the Apostille Convention; and
• the law of the country where the document was
• issued considers it to be a public document; and
• the country in which the document is to be used requires an Apostille in order to recognise it as a foreign public document.

If you have any doubts, you should ask the intended recipient of your document whether an Apostille is necessary in your particular case.

When checking the Status table of the Apostille Convention, always keep the following in mind:

• Check if both the country where the public document was issued and the country where the document is to be used are listed in either part of the Status table.
• For assistance please call 1-833-866-NOTARY to see if you need an apostille.
• Check whether the Convention applies to the entire territory of a country or only to parts of it.
• The Convention only applies to public documents. Whether or not a document is a public document is determined by the law of the country in which the document was issued. Countries typically apply the Convention to a wide variety of documents. Most Apostilles are issued for documents of an administrative nature, including birth, marriage and death certificates; documents emanating from an authority or an official.
• documents emanating from an authority or an official connected with a court, tribunal or commission; extracts from commercial registers and other registers; patents; notarial acts and notarial attestations (acknowledgments) of signatures; school, university and other academic diplomas issued by public institutions.
• The Apostille Convention does not apply to documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents.
• The Convention also excludes from its scope certain administrative documents related to commercial or customs operations.
• An Apostille only certifes the origin of the public document to which it relates: it certifes the authenticity of the signature or seal of the person or authority that signed or sealed the public document and the capacity in which this was done.
• An Apostille does not certify the content of the public document to which it relates. An Apostille may never be used for the recognition of a document in the country where that document was issued – Apostilles are strictly for use of public documents abroad.
• Once I have an Apostille, do I need anything else to show that the signature or seal on my public document is genuine?
• No. An Apostille issued by the relevant Competent Authority is all that is required to establish that a signature or seal on a public document is genuine and to establish the capacity of the person or authority that signed or sealed the public document.
• I need my Apostille translated into the language of the country that is requesting it. No problem at all we provide certified translation services for 75 languages.