About Apostille For Legal Certificates
The authenticity of a document is critical to its acceptance in foreign jurisdictions. It is also a requirement for many government and business transactions. If the process is not followed correctly, a business may encounter numerous delays and expense.
Authentication and apostille are processes for verifying the authenticity of public documents. Depending on the type of document and the country of destination, either an apostille or full legalization will be required. This article explains the nuances of this process.
If your New Jersey apostille processing is considering global expansion, it is important to understand how the apostille and authentication process works. A misstep can result in your document being rejected by the foreign jurisdiction.
An apostille is intended to simplify the legalization of public documents for use in countries that are members of the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. If your document is a public record such as a birth, marriage or death certificate or a notarized copy of a passport application, you should apply for an apostille.
Understanding Apostille for Official Documents
Apostilles are only issued by a designated authority, generally the state Secretary of State’s office. Private documents (personal or corporate) or federal documents will require a full legalization. To authenticate a federal document, the original document or certified copy with a seal and authorized signature must be sent to the issuing U.S. Department of State Authentication Office for a full legalization. Costs, requirements and addresses can be found on the US State Department website.

