The Hague Apostille Convention of 1961, formally the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, is a multilateral treaty that simplifies the process of authenticating public documents for use across borders. The United States ratified the Convention in 1980 and began issuing apostilles on October 15, 1981.
What an apostille is
An apostille is a standardized certificate attached to a public document that attests to the authenticity of the signature on the document and the capacity in which the signing official acted. It does not verify the content of the document itself. An apostille issued by one party to the Convention is recognized by every other party without any further authentication.
Who issues apostilles in the United States
Authority is split between state and federal:
- State-issued public documents (birth certificates, marriage certificates, court records, notarized documents) are apostilled by the Secretary of State of the state where the document was issued or notarized.
- Federal documents (FBI background checks, federal court orders, IRS documents) are apostilled by the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C.
How an apostille works for a translated document
A typical workflow when a translated U.S. document needs to be submitted to a foreign government in a Hague Convention country:
- The U.S. document (for example, a birth certificate) is translated into the destination language by a professional translator who provides a signed Certificate of Accuracy.
- A notary public notarizes the translator's signature on the Certificate of Accuracy.
- The state Secretary of State issues an apostille on the notarized translation, certifying that the notary is who they say they are.
- The package is sent to the foreign authority, which accepts the apostille without requiring further authentication.
For non-Hague Convention countries
Countries that are not party to the Convention require consular legalization instead of an apostille. The chain is longer: the document is notarized, authenticated by the Secretary of State, authenticated by the U.S. Department of State, and finally legalized by the consulate or embassy of the destination country. Consular legalization can take weeks and involves fees at each step.
Practical advice
Before commissioning a translation for international use, confirm with the receiving foreign authority exactly what they require: certified translation, certified plus notarized, apostilled, or consular-legalized. Whether the destination country is a Hague signatory is the first thing to determine. AMS handles certified translation and can coordinate the notarization step; the apostille step is then completed at the relevant Secretary of State.