Apostille Certificate 2025: What is, Requirements, Cost in India

What is an Apostille Certificate?

Apostille is a type of testimonial in which documents are legalized in a specified way. Apostille is applied to private documents such as birth/death/marriage certificates, powers of attorney, affidavits, and educational documents such as diplomas, degrees, matriculation, and secondary level certificates. An apostille certificate is accepted by 105 countries that signed the Hague Convention on October 5, 1961, for the legalization of foreign public papers and established the apostille certification.

Apostille is done only for genuine documents that are correctly issued by the government office. By doing the apostille verification, we can remove fake documents. The Ministry of External Affairs issues the Apostille certificate. This is the highest level of authentication for any document. Once you submit the documents for authentication, your documents will go through many concerned departments for verification.

Apostille Certificate in India

In India, the apostille certificate is required to authorize the documents for use in the member countries of the Hague Convention. These documents include birth certificates, marriage certificates, educational degrees, and commercial documents.

How to get an Apostille Certificate in India?

There are 3 main steps in Getting Apostille

1. Issuing PCC from the government office. Either from Police department or from Passport office
2. Submitting the Original document for Apostille at authorized Apostille Agencies
3. Verification of the PCC for correctness and authenticity
4. Approval of Apostille stamp by MEA India.

It is always better to apply for an Apostille certificate in India from the passport office only. So, once you receive this, follow these steps:

1. Register on Apostille Portal
2. Collect all Documents you want to Apostille
3. Submit the Original / Photocopies of documents
4. Receive Documents with Apostille Directly to your home

Reasons why a student needs an apostille certificate?

Following are the reasons why a student requires an Apostille certificate:

• For Higher Studies in foreign country
• For Working in another country
• Requirement of the foreign country
• For moving as a permanent resident
• In case a person wants to stay for a long period in a foreign country

What all is included in an Apostille certificate?

• Name of country from which the document was issued.
• Name of the person to whom the document is issued.
• Name of person signing the document.
• Designation of the singed person.
• Place of certification date of certification.
• Number of certificates.
• Seal or stamp of authority issuing certificate.
• Signature of authority issuing certificate.

Who Can Issue an Apostille Certificate?

In India, the apostille certificate is issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA); however, the document is first authenticated by the relevant state authorities before the MEA authentication.

Apostille Certificate Near Me

Candidates looking for apostille certificate services near them can visit the official website of the Ministry of External Affairs or can contact certified apostille service providers. Many legal and document processing organizations also provide assistance in the apostille process.

Apostille Certificate Process

Candidates can obtain E-sanad, an e-service for the verification and attestation of documents for Indian citizens. The MEA's official website provides information about E-Sanad.

For Apostille of Documents Not Covered by E-Sanad:

Step 1: Candidates can authenticate their documents at Regional Authentication Centres (RACs).

Step 2: Deposit documents with an authorized outsource service provider. These service providers include the following: M/s. BLS International Services Ltd. M/s. Superb Enterprises Pvt Ltd. M/s. IVS Global Services Private Limited. M/s Alankit Limited. M/s. Alhind Tours and Travels Pvt. Ltd.

Step 3: Receive the apostille/attested documents from outsource agencies.

Apostille Documents Certification

Apostille document certification guarantees that educational certificates, legal documentation, and personal certificates are valid for use in countries that have signed onto the Hague Convention. Apostille documents are used for higher education, employment, and for other legal issues abroad.

Apostille Documents Process

• Candidates must collect all relevant documents and arrange them in the appropriate format.

• They must next get their documents authenticated by the state government authorities.

• Submit certified documents to the Ministry of External Affairs for apostille.

• Once processed, the apostille sticker is applied, documents are ready for international use.

Apostille Certificate Cost 2025

The cost of getting an apostille certificate in India varies according to the type of document. The Ministry of External Affairs charges Rs 50 for apostille services. Normal attestation is free of charge. However, the external organisations would charge a cost of Rs. 90/- per document for collection and delivery for Apostille Attestation by MEA, as well as Rs. 3 per page for scanning.

Apostille Certificate Validity

There is no fixed time period for the validity period of apostille certificate. However, some countries might require the authentication of apostille within a certain period before submission. A recent apostille can be required in some circumstances. It us advised that candidates must check the specific country requirements.

Hague Convention Countries List 2025

The 105 nations that signed the Hague Convention on October 5, 1961 are listed below.