Understanding Apostille Services

If you have ever tried to use a U.S. document in another country, a birth certificate in Italy, a POA in Mexico, a corporate resolution in the Philippines, you have run into the apostille. It is a certificate used to authenticate a public document for use abroad. The receiving authority may have additional document or translation requirements.

What an apostille is

An apostille is a certificate authorized by the 1961 Hague Convention. It is attached to a public document and confirms that the signature on that document (usually a notary's, sometimes a court clerk's or vital records official's) is genuine.

An apostille does not certify the truth of the document's contents. It certifies who signed it.

For countries where the Apostille Convention applies to the document and its origin, an apostille generally replaces the traditional legalization process. Confirm any additional document, translation, or submission requirements with the receiving authority. If not, the document requires 'legalization', a more involved process ending at the destination country's embassy or consulate.

When you need one

Common apostille situations:

• International adoption
• Dual citizenship application
• Marriage abroad
• Studying abroad and diploma verification
• Doing business in another country
• Selling or inheriting property abroad
• Working in another country and needing background checks

How Virginia apostilles work

In Virginia, apostilles are issued by the Secretary of the Commonwealth (the Virginia Secretary of State's office). The process typically looks like this:

1. Prepare the document according to its type. Some documents require proper Virginia notarization, while vital records require qualifying certified records from the issuing authority and must not be notarized.
2. The document is submitted to the Secretary of the Commonwealth
3. The Secretary of the Commonwealth verifies the relevant Virginia official’s credentials and issues the appropriate authentication.
4. The document is returned to the requester

For Virginia birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates, the state requires records issued within the past 12 months. Virginia Circuit Court marriage records require a Certification of Official Record, also called a Triple Seal. Check the current state instructions for your specific record before submitting.

Check the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s current submission instructions for processing information before planning around a deadline. Allow additional time for obtaining records, shipping, and any further required steps.

The mistakes that cause delays

Notarial certificate errors can cause rejection, including missing required information or a notary name that does not match the commission record.

Other common issues:

• Using a certified copy of a document that Virginia doesn't accept a certified copy of
• Sending the wrong document type (an unofficial copy of a birth certificate instead of a certified one, for instance)
• Not accounting for a required translation

Why you probably want help

You can submit documents directly to the Secretary of the Commonwealth using its current instructions. If you prefer assistance, a private apostille service can help organize the submission and identify preparation requirements for your document type. The state issues the authentication, and a service provider cannot guarantee approval or acceptance by the overseas recipient.

Non-Hague countries

A short list of countries have not joined the Hague Apostille Convention. If your document is going to one of them, the process is:

1. Notarize the document properly
2. Get a certification from the Virginia Secretary of the Commonwealth
3. Get authentication from the U.S. Department of State
4. Present the document to the destination country's embassy or consulate for final legalization

This is slower and more expensive than an apostille, but it is not impossible.