What Is An Apostille?

An Apostille is an official government-issued certificate that should be added to a document so that the issuing or certifying body can be verified when used in another country.

Usually, the Apostille Certificate is issued by the state of origin for the document. Although this isn't the only option as in some cases, the Apostille can be issued by another state. When a document has been granted an Apostille Certificate, it can be presented to any country that accepts the Apostille. When this is done correctly, the authority that is receiving the document should accept the seals and signatures as true and valid, without any further validation.

Apostille Certificates that are given in the UK will be accepted in the following countries without any further legalisation:

Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, China (Macau & Hong Kong), Colombia, Cook Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Republic of, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Republic of, Monaco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niue, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, FYR of Macedonia, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Venezuela.

These countries are collectively known as the 'member countries of the Hague Apostille Convention'. Other countries that are not listed will often sometimes accept the UK verified apostille and sometimes they will have their own procedures for legalisation after the document has received an Apostille Certificate - this is typically known as attestation and you can find out more about that here.

For help and assistance obtaining an Apostille, contact us today.