Apostille Certificate 2024: What is, Requirements, Cost in India

An apostille certificate is an official document that verifies the authenticity of documents for international use. The concept of apostille certification was adopted in 1961 by Hague Convention members to streamline the process of document recognition across countries. In India, apostille certifications are issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, with state-level verification followed by central certification.

This Story also Contains

1. What is Apostille Certificate?
2. Apostille Certificate in India
3. Who Can Issue an Apostille Certificate?
4. Apostille Certificate Near Me
5. Apostille Certificate Process
6. Apostille Documents Certification
7. Apostille Certificate Cost 2024
8. Apostille Certificate Validity
9. Hague Convention Countries List 2024

Apostille is accepted in all Convention member countries and is used for personal documents like birth, death, and marriage certificates, affidavits, powers of attorney, and educational documents such as degrees, diplomas, matriculation, and secondary level certificates. Apostilled documents are considered legitimate in India for all purposes. Read the article to understand the apostille process, costs involved, and more.

What is Apostille Certificate?

Apostille is a type of testimonial in which documents are legalised 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 legalisation of foreign public papers and established the Apostille certification.

Apostille Certificate in India

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

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 organisations 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 authorised 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 2024

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 2024

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