During the Hague Convention of 1961, the requirement of legalization of foreign public documents was abolished. India has been the member of this Convention since 2005. Apostille is done for personal documents (birth/death/marriage, affidavits etc.) and educational certificates. Documents attested in one country are acceptable in all the member countries who signed in this convention.

PROCEDURE

Step 1 – Authentication of Documents

The designated authorities of the State in your home country, must first verify all original documents which require Apostille from MEA (Ministry of External Affairs).

For Educational documents, The documents should be first attested by the Education Department /Human Resource Development (HRD) of the concerned State Government.

For Non-Educational documents, Home Department of the State Government has to undertake the primary authentication of the documents.

Commercial Documents, Documents has to be authenticated by the respective Chambers of Commerce.

Step 2 – Apostille of Documents

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) thereafter, on the basis of the signature of the designated authorities of State Government, affixes Apostille sticker on the back side of the original documents.

Countries That Accept Apostille