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). The Model Apostille Certificate is reproduced at the beginning of this brochure.
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 recognition it as a foreign public
An Apostille may never be used for the recognition of a document in the country where that document was issued – Apostilles are strictly for the use of public documents abroad!
An Apostille may not be required if the laws, regulations, or practice in force in the country where the public document is to be used have abolished
or simplified the requirement of an Apostille, or have exempted the document from any legalisation requirement. Such simplification or exemption may also result from a treaty or other agreement that is in
force between the country where the public document is to be used and the country that issued it (e.g., some other Hague Conventions exempt documents from legalisation or any analogous formality, including an Apostille).
If you have any doubts, you should ask the intended recipient of your document whether an Apostille is necessary in your particular case.
*** We are Florida Notary Public, we are not Lawyers.
Legal disclaimer: The Notary Public Service seeks to provide timely articles for notaries and people looking for information, just to assist them with information and ideas for managing their notary businesses or to give some idea in what they need for the future, enhancing their notary educations, but makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained . Information in this article is not intended as legal advice. We are not attorneys. We do not pretend to be attorneys. Though we will sometimes provide information regarding federal laws and statutes and the laws and statutes of each state, we have gathered the information from a variety of sources. We do not warrant the information gathered from those sources. If you are Notary Public, It is your responsibility to know the appropriate laws governing your state. Notaries are advised to seek the advice of an attorney in their state if they have legal questions about how to notarize.
