What is an Apostille Certificate?

There are special moments in life requiring that documents be certified by the authorities, in order to be recognized by another institution. Whenever it is the case, you need to find an apostille services company, where they will handle the task for you. Here is a description of the apostille certificate and a few situations where you may need one.

Apostille Certificate

An apostille is a certificate issued by a governmental office, which is added to a document in order to confirm that it is an original and that it should be recognized by any other official institution as such. This applies to any country that took part of the Hague Convention in 1961. Normally, it is the state that issued the document which has the power to add an apostille certificate to it. However, in America, it is sometimes possible for another state to do so. When you find yourself in need of such a document, you can contact these apostille services in Florida. It is the easiest process. You just apply online, send them the documents, and they will get them back to you rapidly with the apostille certificate on them.

When you are unsure of which document needs an apostille certificate, you can also get in touch with these services, as they will be able to guide you through the process. Sometimes, legalization of the document is the right option, but they will handle the request so that you have the correct document in hand, when you provide it to the institution that asked for it. Since finding your way to the right state or federal office may make you lose time, using such a service provider will be the fastest route to solve the issue at hand.

Note: The difference between an apostille document and legalization of one, depends on the country where you need to send it to. Those who are part of the Hague Convention of 1961 will accept the apostille certificate, while the others will require legalization.

Which information must be included on an apostille certificate?

In order to conform to the norms established at the Hague Convention, a document that is completed with an apostille certificate must contain a minimum of precise information on it. Otherwise, it may not be accepted by the receiving party. These elements are:

• The country of issue
• The name of the person who signed the document
• The capacity in which that person signed the document
• Any details relating to the seal on the document
• The place of issue
• The date of issue
• The issuing authority
• An apostille Certificate number
• The stamp of the issuing authority
• The signature of the representative of the issuing authority

Which Personal Documents may require an Apostille Certificate

There are many situations when you may be asked to provide an apostille certificate. It usually refers to your status, which needs to be understood by a governmental office from another country, before they can process a request that you have made to them. Here are a few of the documents that you may have to certify in such instances: A marriage, death or birth certificate, a divorce decree, a single status affidavit, a will, as well as other notarized documents.