Apostille Handbook – Apostille – Hợp Pháp Hóa Lãnh Sự

Hague conference on private international law

The ABCs

of Apostilles

How to ensure

that your public

documents will

be recognised

abroad

This brochure provides practical replies to

the following frequently asked questions

about the Apostille Convention:

1 > What is an Apostille and when do I need one?

2 > In which countries does the Apostille

Convention apply?

3 > What do I do if either the country where my

public document was issued or the country

where I need to use my public document is

not a party to the Apostille Convention?

4 > To which documents does the Apostille

Convention apply?

5 > Where do I get an Apostille?

6 > What do I need to know before requesting an

Apostille?

7 > How much does an Apostille cost?

8 > Do all Apostilles have to look exactly the same?

9 > How are Apostilles affixed to public documents?

10 > What are the effects of an Apostille?

11 > Once I have an Apostille, do I need anything

else to show that the signature or seal on my

public document is genuine?

12 > If the recipient of my Apostille wants to verify

my Apostille, what should I suggest?

13 > Can Apostilles be rejected in the country

where they are to be used?

14 > What about electronic Apostilles and electronic

Registers of Apostilles?

Model of an Apostille as annexed

to the Convention

APOSTILLE

(Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961)

Country:…………………………………………..

This public document

hasbeen signed by ……………………………………………………….
actingin the capacity of ………………………………………………..
bearsthe seal/stamp of ………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………

Certified

at………………………………… 6. the …………………………………
by………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………….

No……………………………….
Seal/stamp:10. Signature:

……………………………………. …………………………………………..

2 3

Public documents, such as birth certificates, judgments,

patents or notarial attestations (acknowledgments) of

signatures, frequently need to be used abroad. However,

before a public document can be used in a country other

than the one that issued it, its origin must often be

authenticated. The traditional method for authenticating

public documents to be used abroad is called legalisation

and consists of a chain of individual authentications

of the document. This process involves officials of the

country where the document was issued as well as the

foreign Embassy or Consulate of the country where

the document is to be used. Because of the number of

authorities involved, the legalisation process is frequently

slow, cumbersome and costly.

www.hcch.net > Apostille Section

The Apostille Convention has proven to be extremely

useful and is applied millions of times each year

throughout the world. It greatly facilitates the circulation

of public documents issued by a country party to the

Convention and that are to be used in another country

also party to the Convention.

This brochure provides basic

information about the Apostille

Convention. It explains in particular

when, where and how the Convention

applies, who issues Apostilles, what the

effects of an Apostille are and what you

need to think about before you ask for

an Apostille.

A large number of countries all over the world have

joined a treaty that greatly simplifies the authentication

of public documents to be used abroad. This treaty is

called the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing

the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public

Documents. It is commonly known as the Apostille

Convention. Where it applies, the treaty reduces the

authentication process to a single formality: the issuance

of an authentication certificate by an authority designated

by the country where the public document was issued.

This certificate is called an Apostille.

For further details, please see the website of the Hague

Conference on Private International Law (Hague

Conference) at www.hcch.net. The Hague Conference is

the Organisation that developed the Apostille Convention

(see the info at the end of this brochure). All relevant

and updated information about the Apostille Convention

is available in the ‘Apostille Section’ of the Hague

Conference website – look for the link entitled:

Apostille Section (incl. e-APP)

question 1

What is an

Apostille and

when do I

need one?

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Question 1 What is an Apostille and when do I need one?

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:

thecountry where the document was issued is

party to the Apostille Convention; and

thecountry 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

thecountry in which the document is to be used

requires an Apostille in order to recognise it as a

foreign public document.

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.

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question 2

Question 2 In which countries does the Apostille Convention apply?

The Apostille Convention only applies if both the

country where the public document was issued and

the country where the public document is to be used

are parties to the Convention. A comprehensive and

updated list of the countries where the Apostille

Convention applies, or will soon apply, is available in

the Apostille Section of the Hague Conference website

– look for the link entitled Status table of the Apostille

Convention.

The Status table of the Apostille Convention has two

parts: the first part lists countries that have joined the

Apostille Convention and are also Members of the Hague

Conference (i.e., the Organisation that developed the

In which

countries does

the Apostille

Convention apply?

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Convention); the second part lists countries that have

joined the Apostille Convention but are not Members of the

Hague Conference. In other words, a country does not

need to be a Member of the Hague Conference to be

party to the Apostille Convention.

When checking the Status table of the Apostille

Convention, always keep the following in mind:

1 Check if both the country where the public

document was issued and the country where the

document is to be used are listed in either part of the

Status table.

2 It does not matter whether a country appears in the

first or the second part of the Status table – the

Convention applies equally to Members and non-

Members of the Organisation.

3 Check the date of entry into force of the Convention

for both countries. Look for the column entitled ‘EIF’

– only after that date can the relevant country issue

and receive Apostilles.

4 There are different ways for a country to become a

party to the Convention (ratification, accession, succession

or continuation), but these differences have no impact on

how the Convention operates in a country.

5 If one of the countries has acceded to the

Convention, check that the other country has not objected

to that accession; to find out, see the column entitled

‘Type’ next to the acceding country’s name and check if

there is a link entitled ‘A**’ – if so, click on it and check

whether the other country is listed.

6 Check whether the Convention applies to the entire

territory of a country or only to parts of it; to find out,

see if there is a link in the columns entitled ‘Ext’ and

‘Res/D/N’ – if so, click on it and read the relevant

information.

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Do not confuse the

Status table of the Apostille

Convention with other lists

of countries on the Hague

Conference website, such

as the list of Members of

the Hague Conference on

Private International Law or

status tables of other Hague

Conventions. A country may

be party to one or several

of the many other Hague

Conventions but not to the

Apostille Convention, or a

country may be party to the

Apostille Convention without

being party to any other Hague

Conventions.

question 3

What do I do if

either the country

where my public

document was

issued or the

country where I

need to use my

public document

is not a party

to the Apostille

Convention?

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Question 3 What do I do if either the country where my public

document was issued or the country where I need to use my

public document is not a party to the Apostille Convention?

If your public document was issued or is to be used

in a country where the Apostille Convention does not

apply, you should contact the Embassy or a Consulate

of the country where you intend to use the document in

order to find out what your options are. The Permanent

Bureau (Secretariat) of the Hague Conference does not

provide assistance in such cases.

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Question 4 To which documents does the Apostille

Convention apply?

The Convention only applies to public documents.

Whether or not a document is a public document is

determined by the law of the country in which the

document was issued. Countries typically apply the

Convention to a wide variety of documents. Most

Apostilles are issued for documents of an administrative

nature, including birth, marriage and death certificates;

question 4

To which

documents does

the Apostille

Convention apply?

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documents emanating from an authority or an official

connected with a court, tribunal or commission;

extracts from commercial registers and other registers;

patents; notarial acts and notarial attestations

(acknowledgments) of signatures; school, university and

other academic diplomas issued by public institutions.

The Apostille Convention does not apply to documents

executed by diplomatic or consular agents.

The Convention also excludes from its scope certain

administrative documents related to commercial or

customs operations.

If you are not sure

whether a particular document

is a public document, you

should contact the relevant

Competent Authority of

the country that issued the

document (as discussed in the

next question).

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question 5

Where do I get

an Apostille?

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Question 5 Where do I get an Apostille?

Each country that is party to the Convention must

designate one or several authorities that are entitled to

issue Apostilles. These authorities are called Competent

Authorities – only they are permitted to issue Apostilles.

The list of all Competent Authorities designated by

each country that has joined the Apostille Convention

is available in the Apostille Section of the Hague

Conference website.

Some countries have designated only one Competent

Authority. Other countries have designated several

Competent Authorities either to ensure that there

are Competent Authorities in different regions of the

country or because different government entities are

responsible for different kinds of public documents; in

some federal systems, the national Government may be

responsible for certain types of documents whereas a

component state or local government may

be responsible for others.

If a country has designated various Competent

Authorities, make sure you identify the relevant

Competent Authority for your request.

Most Apostilles are issued on the same day they are

requested.

The Apostille Section of the Hague Conference website

provides full contact details of most Competent

Authorities, including links to the websites of

Competent Authorities where available.

A public document

can only be apostillised by

the relevant Competent

Authority of the country

that issued the document.

While the Permanent Bureau

(Secretariat) of the Hague

Conference provides a broad

range of services to support

Contracting States in the

effective implementation

and practical operation of the

Apostille Convention, it does

not issue any Apostilles, does

not maintain any register of

Apostilles and does not keep

any copies of Apostilles.

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question 6

Question 6 What do I need to know before requesting an Apostille?

Before you approach a Competent Authority about

getting an Apostille, you should consider questions

such as:

Doesthe Apostille Convention apply in both

the country that issued the public document and the

country where I intend to use it?

Ifthe country that issued the public document has

designated several Competent Authorities, which one is

the relevant Competent Authority to issue an Apostille

for my public document?

CanI get an Apostille for my public document, i.e.,

is my document considered a public document under

the law of the country where it was issued?

CanI request an Apostille by mail or must I appear

What do I need

to know before

requesting an

Apostille?

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in person? This is particularly relevant if you are living

in a country other than the country that issued your

public document.

IfI have multiple documents, will I need multiple

Apostilles?

Arethere other documents (in addition to the

public document) or additional information that I

need to provide to get an Apostille (e.g., a document

establishing my identity or a stamped envelope in the

case of requests by mail)?

Howmuch does an Apostille cost and what forms

of payment are available?

Howlong will it take to get the Apostille?

If you cannot find

the answers to these questions

in this brochure, see the

information available in the

Apostille Section of the Hague

Conference website. If you

still cannot find an answer,

contact the relevant Competent

Authority.

The Apostille Section provides

full contact details of most

Competent Authorities,

including links to the websites

of Competent Authorities

where available.

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question 7

How much

does an

Apostille cost?

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Question 7 How much does an Apostille cost?

The Apostille Convention is silent on the cost of

Apostilles. As a result, the practice among Competent

Authorities varies greatly.

Many Competent Authorities do charge for Apostilles;

when they do, the prices vary greatly. For practical

information on the prices that individual countries

charge, see the information available in the

Apostille Section of the Hague Conference website.

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question 8

Question 8 Do all Apostilles have to look exactly the same?

No. An Annex to the Apostille Convention provides a

Model Apostille Certificate (which is reproduced at the

beginning of this brochure). Apostilles should conform

as closely as possible to this Model Certificate.

In particular, an Apostille must:

beidentified as an Apostille; and
includethe short version of the French title of the

Convention (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961);

and

includea box with the 10 numbered standard

informational items.

An Apostille may also provide additional information.

Do all Apostilles

have to look exactly

the same?

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For example, an Apostille may:

provideextra information about the public document to

which it relates;

recallthe limited effect of an Apostille (i.e., that it only

certifies the origin of the public document to which it

relates);

providea web-address (URL) of a register where the

origin of the Apostille may be verified; or

specifythat the Apostille is not to be used in the country

that issued it.

However, such additional information must be

outside the box that holds the 10 numbered standard

informational items.

While an Apostille

should conform as closely

as possible to the Model

Certificate, in practice

Apostilles issued by different

Competent Authorities vary.

These variations may be in

design, size and colour as well

as in any additional elements

mentioned outside the box

that holds the 10 numbered

standard informational items.

Such variations in appearance

are not a basis for refusal of

an Apostille by the intended

recipient!

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Question 9 How are Apostilles affixed to public documents?

An Apostille must be placed directly on the public

document itself or on a separate attached page (called

an allonge). Apostilles may be affixed by various means,

including rubber stamps, self-adhesive stickers,

impressed seals, etc.

If an Apostille is placed on an allonge, the latter can be

attached to the underlying public document by a variety

question 9

How are Apostilles

affixed to public

documents?

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of means, including glue, grommets, staples, ribbons,

wax seals, etc. While all of these means are acceptable

under the Convention, Competent Authorities are

encouraged to use more secure methods of affixation

so as to safeguard the integrity of the Apostille.

Failure to affix an Apostille in a particular manner is

not a basis for refusing the Apostille.

You should never

detach an Apostille, regardless

of whether it is placed directly

on the public document or on

an allonge!

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question 10

Question 10 What are the effects of an Apostille?

An Apostille only certifies the origin of the public

document to which it relates: it certifies the authenticity

of the signature or seal of the person or authority that

signed or sealed the public document and the capacity

in which this was done.

An Apostille does not certify the content of the public

document to which it relates.

Apostilles are not grants of authority and do not give

any additional weight to the content of underlying

documents.

An Apostille may never be used for the recognition

What are the

effects of an

Apostille?

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of a document in the country where that document

was issued – Apostilles are strictly for use of public

documents abroad.

It is up to the country where the Apostille is to be used

to decide how much weight to give to the underlying

public document.

An Apostille only

certifies the origin of the

public document to which it

relates, never the content of that

document.

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Question 11 Once I have an Apostille, do I need anything

else to show that the signature or seal on my public document

is genuine?

No. An Apostille issued by the relevant Competent

Authority is all that is required to establish that a

signature or seal on a public document is genuine and

to establish the capacity of the person or authority that

signed or sealed the public document.

If the Convention

applies, an Apostille is the

only formality that is required

question 11

Once I have an

Apostille, do I

need anything

else to show that

the signature or

seal on my public

document is

genuine?

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to establish the origin of

the public document – no

additional requirement may

be imposed to authenticate the

origin of the public document.

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question 12

If the recipient of

my Apostille wants

to verify my

Apostille, what

should I suggest?

Question 12 If the recipient of my Apostille wants to verify

my Apostille, what should I suggest?

Each Competent Authority is required to keep a register

in which it records the date and number of every

Apostille it issues, as well as information relating to the

person or authority that signed or sealed the underlying

public document.

Recipients may contact the Competent Authority

identified on the Apostille and ask whether the

information on the Apostille corresponds with the

information in the register.

In order to verify a particular Apostille, recipients may

contact the Competent Authority. Contact information

for the Competent Authorities, including phone

numbers and website information, such as the URL of

e-Registers where applicable, is available in the

Apostille Section of the Hague Conference website.

Many Competent Authorities have started to operate

online electronic Registers (e-Registers). These

e-Registers allow for easy online queries to verify the

origin of an Apostille without Competent Authorities

having to answer these queries individually by phone,

e-mail or otherwise. If a Competent Authority operates

such an e-Register, the web address of the e-Register is

mentioned on the Apostille.

While the Permanent Bureau (Secretariat) of the Hague

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Conference provides a broad range of services to support

Contracting States in the effective implementation and

practical operation of the Apostille Convention, it does

not issue any Apostilles, does not maintain any register

of Apostilles and does not keep any copies of Apostilles.

If the intended

recipient of your apostillised

public document has

doubts about the origin of

the Apostille, you should

encourage him or her to

immediately contact the

Competent Authority

mentioned on the Apostille

and ask the latter to verify

whether it really issued the

Apostille. If available, an

e-Register allows for a quick

online query.

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question 13

Can Apostilles

be rejected in the

country where they

are to be used?

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Question 13 Can Apostilles be rejected in the country

where they are to be used?

Apostilles issued in accordance with the requirements

of the Convention must be recognised in the country

where they are to be used.

Apostilles may only be rejected if and when:

theirorigin cannot be verified (i.e., if and when the

particulars on the Apostille do not correspond with

those in the register kept by the Competent Authority

that allegedly issued the Apostille); or

theirformal elements differ radically from the

Model Certificate annexed to the Convention.

While an Apostille should conform as closely as possible

to the Model Certificate annexed to the Convention,

in practice Apostilles issued by different Competent

Authorities vary in design, size and colour as well as in

any additional elements that may be included on the

Certificate. Such variations in appearance are not a basis

for refusal of an Apostille.

Failure to affix an Apostille to the public document

in a particular manner is not a basis for refusing the

Apostille. The mere fact that an Apostille has been

affixed by a method that differs from the method(s)

employed by the country where it is to be used is not a

reason for the rejection of the Apostille.

Additional text on an Apostille outside the box with

the 10 numbered standard informational items is not a

basis for rejection of an Apostille.

‘Apostille Certificates’ issued by countries that are not

party to the Convention must be rejected in all other

States as being contrary to the Convention.

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question 14

What about

electronic Apostilles

and electronic

Registers of

Apostilles?

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Question 14 What about electronic Apostilles and electronic

Registers of Apostilles?

The Convention does allow Competent Authorities to

issue Apostilles in electronic form (e-Apostilles) and to

maintain electronic registers of Apostilles (e-Registers).

Many Competent Authorities are developing and

implementing e-Apostilles and e-Registers, as suggested

by the Permanent Bureau (Secretariat) of the Hague

Conference under the electronic Apostille Pilot Program

(e-APP). For more information about the e-APP in

general, and on whether a particular Competent

Authority issues e-Apostilles and/or maintains an

e-Register, see the e-APP website at www.e-APP.info

(in particular the Status of the e-APP).

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About the Hague Conference on

Private International Law

The Hague Conference on Private International Law

was established in 1893 and became a permanent

intergovernmental organisation in 1955. Today,

the Hague Conference is the pre-eminent World

Organisation dealing with cross-border legal issues in

civil and commercial matters. Its mission is to work

towards a world in which individuals and companies

can enjoy a high degree of legal certainty in cross-

border situations.

Responding to the needs of a globalising

international community, the Hague Conference

develops multilateral Conventions (45 since 1893)

and assists with their implementation and practical

operation. These Hague Conventions deal with such

diverse fields as Apostilles; service of process abroad;

taking of evidence abroad; shares, bonds and other

securities; child abduction, intercountry adoption,

maintenance obligations, etc. These Conventions

serve to build bridges between various legal systems

while respecting their diversity. The Secretariat of the

Hague Conference is called the Permanent Bureau.

hague conference on private international law

permanent bureau

6, Scheveningseweg

2517 KT The Hague

The Netherlands

Tel: +31 (70) 363 3303

Fax: +31 (70) 360 4867

E-mail: secretariat@hcch.net

Website: www.hcch.net