What is an Apostille Certificate, and when is it important?
What is an Apostille Certificate? An Apostille Certificate (also referred to as an ‘Apostille Seal’, ‘Apostille legalisation’ ‘Document Legalisation’ or ‘Hague Convention Apostille’) is a form of certification which is issued to validate the authenticity of a document. Apostille Certificates are used by an overseas authority when they require validation of a document issued in another country.
What is an Apostille Certificate used for?
An Apostille Certificate is primarily used to validate certificates of birth, marriage and death, however, there are multiple documents which may prompt an overseas authority to request an Apostille Certificate in order to prove authenticity. If you are living and working abroad, you and your family may need to validate documentation for bank accounts, school registrations and visa applications. If you run a business cross-border, your company registration certificate(s) may need to be verified.
Documents which may require Apostille Certification include (but are not limited to):
Birth certificate
Marriage certificate
Death certificate
Adoption certificate
Company registration certificates
Wills and letters of administration
Probate
Passport (copies only)
How is an Apostille Certificate used?
The Apostille Certificate is a small piece of paper, which is glued to the document (you may wish to obtain official copies of legal documents such as birth certificates in order to retain the original copy in its original format) and an ‘Apostille seal’ or ‘Apostille stamp’ is embossed on the document, leaving a raised stamp on the certificate representing the issuing authority.
The certificate includes information such as the country it is issued in, who has signed the document (where relevant), place of issue, date of issue, issuing authority and an Apostille Certificate number. This unique number can be verified by an overseas authority with the issuing authority in order to check authenticity.
how to Get help with your Apostille Certification
For those who are living and working abroad, Apostille Certification of important public documents is a factor and Expats and those with properties, work or assets overseas should consider this so that you can use your documentation in every country that you need to.
For more information on Apostille Certificates and certifying or legalising documents and verifying your ID with banks and businesses around the world, contact us at ProActPartnership.com
