Apostille

What is Hague Certification

The English name of Hague Certification is APOSTILLE. This word comes from French and is equivalent to the English word certification, which is different from the embassy certification. APOSTILLE specifically refers to the process and result of the mutual recognition between the signatories of the 1961 Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, in which a specific official agency confirms the authenticity of the signature and seal made by its competent department on the official document. It is a specific "certification".

Simply put, Hague Certification is the certification procedure carried out when the document is used between Hague member states.

Before the emergence of Hague Certification, documents must be circulated and used between countries. Consular certification (also called embassy certification), that is, the document must be notarized by the notary agency of the country of origin, certified by the diplomatic agency of the country, and finally sent to the embassy or consulate of the country of use for certification, so that it can be used abroad.

Consular certification, that is, embassy certification, improves the credibility of documents between countries and plays an important role in the circulation of international documents. As an integral part of consular duties, it has been widely accepted by the international community. However, the consular authentication system makes the document circulation procedure cumbersome and brings a lot of trouble to the exchanges between countries. In particular, with the increase in exchanges between countries, the amount of consular authentication in various countries is also increasing. This not only increases the number of people engaged in consular authentication in various countries, but more importantly, affects the speed of document circulation.

Apostille procedure

A. Draft or obtain the original document and have it notarized by a local notary public, or obtain a certified copy from the relevant government department. Some states (Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Maryland, New York) require you to apply for certification from the county clerk or court clerk before applying for Secretary of State certification.

B. Secretary of State certification or U.S. Department of State certification All notarized documents, as well as documents issued by state or local government departments and courts, can be certified by the Secretary of State. Documents issued by federal government departments or federal courts (such as a certificate of no criminal record issued by the FBI) can be directly certified by the U.S. Department of State.

China has now acceded to the Apostille Convention

On March 8, 2023, China deposited its instrument of accession to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization of Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention) of October 5, 1961. The Hague Apostille Convention will enter into force for China on November 7, 2023. Hong Kong and Macao became members of the Hague Apostille Convention in 1965 and 1969 respectively.

Tip: Before the above-mentioned effective date, consular certification is still required for international use of documents.

Which countries are members of the Hague Convention?

The Hague Convention was implemented in 1961. At present, most countries in the world are members of the Hague Convention. Is China a member of the Hague Certification? Can it be certified by the Hague? Specifically, mainland China has not yet joined the convention. Documents used in mainland China cannot be certified by the Hague, but should be certified by the consulate; but the convention applies to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region of China, so documents used in Hong Kong and Macao can be certified by the Hague.

The member countries/regions in the following list

It came into force in 1961 under the Hague Convention. Currently, most countries in the world are members of the Hague Convention. Is China a member of the Apostille? Can I apply for an apostille? Specifically, Chinese mainland has not yet joined the Convention, and documents obtained for use in Chinese mainland cannot be apostille, but should be legalized; However, the Convention applies to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region of China, so it is possible to apply for apostille when you obtain documents for use in Hong Kong and Macao.

The following list of member states/territories accept apostille: