As taken from their website "Since 1983, The Hague Conference on Private International Law, the World Organization for Cross-border Cooperation in Civil and Commercial Maters, a melting pot of different legal traditions has developed and serviced conventions which respond to global needs in the following areas: International protection of children, family and property relations, international legal co-operation and litigation and international commercial and finance law." It is Convention 12 that concerns us here, often called "the Apostille Convention".
Apostille is a French word (pronounced 'ah-poh-steel') meaning certification. It is used as a means to verify that official documents being used across international borders are authentic. Countries agree to accept the Apostille for document authentication purposes by becoming members of the Hague Conference Convention 12, in order to ease the process of conducting business globally. If you are told that your documents need an Apostille, that is good news, in that it makes it possible to avoid the time and expense of a consular legalization.
That depends on the type of document you have and where it is from. The procedure usually begins in the state where the document was signed or issued. In some states it can be a two stop process, starting at the county level.
In Texas (as in most states) the Notary Section of the Secretary of State's Office is the "Competent Authority" who issues Apostilles and Plain Certificates (similar to an Apostille, but for countries that are not party to the Hague's Convention 12) on documents that are notarizied or certified here in Texas.
Federal documents must go to the State Department in DC for an Apostille.
See our link here for the Hague Conference's List of countries that are member of Convention 12 (abolishing the need for legalization). If your country is listed there, an Apostille should suffice.
Yes. The issuing authority will examine it to be sure it is an original and they will attach the certificate to it.
Note: Removing the certificate can invalidate the authentication.
In that case, the issuing authority would issue the other (in Texas it's just called a "Plain Certificate") and the document will likely need to go to the appropriate consulate to be legalized. The good news is.....we can take care of that for you! Call us for more information relative to your particular country.
We understand many of the procedural changes our clients may be making in order to show compliance with the Federal Corrupt Practices Act. AuthenText Solutions prides itself in our ability to tailor our service to our clients' specific needs. We are happy to adhere to specific procedures for our clients that request us to do so do, in order to help them remain FCPA compliant.
Note: Employees of AuthenText Solutions LLC are not attorneys and therefore are not qualified to give legal advice. If you need legal advice you should seek the advice of a qualified attorney
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