Apostille
Also called hague apostille · apostille certificate
Definition
A certificate issued under the 1961 Hague Convention that authenticates the origin of a public document so it can be recognized in any other Convention party without further legalization.
Context
An apostille certifies who signed the document and in what capacity. It says nothing about the content. For an FBI Identity History Summary the apostille is issued by the U.S. Department of State, never by a state Secretary of State.
Government sources
Where this term comes from.
- Full text — Apostille Convention (1961)
Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) · reviewed 2026-08-01
- Office of Authentications
U.S. Department of State · reviewed 2026-08-01
- Authenticate an official document for use outside the U.S.
USAGov · reviewed 2026-08-01
Related terms
- Hague Apostille ConventionThe Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, which replaced consular legalization with a single apostille among its parties.
- LegalizationThe multi-step process by which a document is certified for use in a country that is not a party to the Apostille Convention, ending with certification by that country's embassy or consulate.
- Office of AuthenticationsThe office within the U.S. Department of State that authenticates federal documents for use abroad, issuing apostilles for Convention destinations and authentication certificates for others.
- Competent authorityThe body a Convention party designates to issue apostilles for documents originating within its jurisdiction.