Your Guide To Document Legalization

If you are preparing documents for use in a foreign country you may have come across the term’s authentication, legalization, or apostille. Unsure what these terms mean? These terms are simply used to identify which process that needs to be used to make US documents legal for use in a foreign country.

How does Apostille Differ from Legalization?

An apostille is for documents to be used in countries that participate in the 1961 Hague Convention Treaty. Documents for use in countries that are member nations of the Hague Treaty involve a single step processing of a document.

Authentication certificates are for documents to be used in countries that do not participate in the 1961 Hague Convention Treaty. Countries that are not member nations of the Hague Treaty require a multi-step process to involving multiple authorities to complete the processing of these documents.

Process to Apostille of Documents

Depending on the type of document to be processed will determine if the apostille is issued by either a Secretary of State or the US Department of State. The processing times vary from state to state and federal documents requiring the apostille be issued by the US Department of State can take 2-12 weeks depending on the type of document.

Process to Legalize Documents

For documents being used in countries that are not member nations of the Hague Treaty, the process involves multiple steps. Federal documents require a 2 step process through the US Department of State and the embassy of the country the document will be used. Nonfederal documents require a 3-step process. Submission to the Secretary of State, US Department of State and the embassy of the country the document will be used.

 A Quick & Easy Option to Apostille/Legalize Your Documents

Obtaining an apostille or legalizing documents can be a challenging task when you are unfamiliar with how to navigate the process. SharpLink Services is a document authentication company located in Washington, DC and they are happy to assist you.

For further inquiries, contact us at www.sharplinkservices.com.