Determine When You Need an Apostille
An apostille is a legal requirement for international document authentication. It verifies public documents such as court orders, birth certificates, marriage licenses and diplomas against seals and signatures on them to make them readable in any country that adheres to the 1961 Hague Convention treaty.
Prior to 1981 and the apostille protocol being put into practice, legalizing foreign documents involved an elaborate web of forms. Now however, an apostille streamlines this process so quickly and easily for your documents to be accepted overseas.
An apostille not only decreases the number of people handling your documents, but it also protects privacy. Traditional legalization methods rely on multiple parties to verify signatures and stamps on documents, increasing the chance that any private information could accidentally become accessible. By contrast, all Hague convention member countries recognize an apostille process to verify legitimacy through one certificate that includes details such as country, authority and signatory details - eliminating this risk altogether.
New York provides an apostille certification for public documents issued by either the Secretary of State or county clerks (provided they are recognized officials by the department). If your document originates from another state, an authentication certificate may be needed instead. Both can be obtained through the New York Department of State either online or at their Albany or NYC locations - payments for an apostille certification can be made with credit/debit/check.
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