Federal apostille certification is critical to your business’s success in a foreign country. If a small detail is overlooked, it can be a major setback to your global endeavors. The apostille and authentication process can seem like a maze to those unfamiliar with it, but it is important to get it right the first time.

In the United States, apostilles and authentication certificates verify signatures, stamps, or seals on important public documents, such as court orders, contracts, diplomas, and vital records. The type of document you need determines which certification is required, and there are some important differences between the two.

Understanding Federal Apostille Certification for U.S. Documents

For example, a state apostille is issued by the secretary of state’s office and verifies only public documents that were signed by a government official or county clerk. Federal apostilles are issued by the Department of State’s Office of Authentications and only validate documents that were issued by a federal agency.

Apostilles are meant to simplify the legalization of public documents for use in countries that are members of The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. The apostille procedure certifies that the document is authentic and that it has been processed through the streamlined authentication process, which reduces the amount of paperwork involved in getting documents certified for use abroad.

An authentication certificate, on the other hand, is used to authenticate a public document for use in a foreign country that is not a member of The Hague Convention. This is a more formal document, and includes the facsimile signature of the New York Secretary of State or his/her deputy.

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