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Washington DC | Authentication | Apostilles

Apostille Services

What is an Apostille?

apostilleAn apostille (pronounced “ah-po-steel”) is a certificate issued by the Secretary of State or other Notary regulating agency that proves the authenticity of a Notary’s signature and seal. The apostille is attached to your original document to verify it is legitimate and authentic so it will be accepted in countries who are members of the Hague Apostille Convention.

The Hague Apostille Convention was a conference held in 1961 in which many countries joined together to create a simplified method of “legalizing” documents for universal recognition.  Members of this conference adopted a document referred to as an Apostille that would be recognized by all member countries.  Apostille only pertains to public documents such as marriage, birth, and death certificates and other court documents, patents, or even diplomas.

The United States of America has been a part of the Hague Convention since October 1981.  Getting documents apostilled can be a challenging task, especially if it’s your first experience with the document authentication process.  Fortunately, our team at Washington Express Visas is happy to guide you through the process.  Contact us today for assistance!

Common Documents

Members of the Hague Apostille Convention

Albania

Dominica

Lithuania

Saint Lucia

Andorra

Dominican Republic

Luxembourg

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Antigua & Barbuda

Ecuador

Macau

Samoa

Argentina

El Salvador

Macedonia

San Marino

Armenia

Estonia

Malawi

Sao Tome and Principe

Australia

Fiji

Malta

Saudi Arabia

Austria

Finland

Marshall Islands

Serbia

Azerbaijan

France

Mauritius

Seychelles

Bahamas

Georgia

Mexico

Slovakia

Bahrain

Germany

Moldova

Slovenia

Barbados

Greece

Monaco

South Africa

Belarus

Grenada

Mongolia

South Korea

Belgium

Guatemala

Montenegro

Spain

Belize

Honduras

Morocco

Suriname

Bolivia

Hong Kong

Namibia

Swaziland

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Hungary

Netherlands

Sweden

Botswana

Iceland

New Zealand

Switzerland

Brazil

India

Nicaragua

Tajikistan

Brunei

Indonesia

Niue

Tonga

Bulgaria

Ireland

Norway

Trinidad and Tobago

Burundi

Israel

Oman

Tunisia

Cape Verde

Italy

Panama

Turkey

Chile

Jamaica

Paraguay

Ukraine

Colombia

Japan

Peru

United Kingdom

Cook Islands

Kosovo

Philippines

United States

Costa Rica

Kazakhstan

Poland

Uruguay

Croatia

Latvia

Portugal

Uzbekistan

Cyprus

Lesotho

Romania

Vanuata

Czech Republic

Liberia

Russia

Venezuela

Denmark

Liechtenstein

Saint Kitts & Nevis