What Is an Apostille?

What countries require: the apostille explained

When you submit an official document to a foreign government — a birth certificate for a family reunification visa, an FBI background check for Spain residency, a diploma for a work permit — that government cannot simply trust that your document is genuine. The 1961 Hague Convention established a standardized solution: the apostille. It replaces complex multi-step consular chains with a single certificate from one designated authority in the issuing country.

Where the Apostille Convention applies between issuing and receiving countries, an apostille replaces consular legalisation for authenticating the origin of a qualifying public document when authentication is required. Exemptions exist, including specified intra-EU public documents, and the receiving authority determines all other submission conditions. Typically, when an apostille applies, authorities require:

1. The original public document — issued by the competent authority (Civil Registry, university, FBI CJIS, court, etc.)
2. Apostille certificate — from the competent authority of the country where the document was issued
3. Certified translation — sworn translation into the destination country's language (required by Spain for all non-Spanish documents)

We handle all three steps in a single coordinated service — no need to manage multiple providers or navigate government submission procedures alone.

Need an apostille?

This page explains what an apostille is. For the service, current packages and prices, see our apostille service page; the competent authority and the receiving institution's requirements are confirmed at case review.

Common reasons apostilles are rejected — and how we prevent them

Most apostille rejections are entirely preventable. Our pre-submission review catches every one of these issues before we submit your documents:

• Wrong competent authority — FBI checks sent to a state Secretary of State (or vice versa, state documents sent to the US State Department). Jurisdiction is absolute. We know exactly which authority handles each document type.
• Photocopy submitted instead of original — A plain photocopy is not the same as a certified original. Depending on the issuing authority, an officially certified copy, paper original, or verifiable electronic document may qualify; as a rule, do not submit an uncertified photocopy as the original.
• Document expired for immigration purposes — The apostille itself is permanently valid, but an apostille does not set the underlying document's age limit: the receiving authority publishes the freshness rule for each visa (verified Spanish consular checklists include three-, five- and six-month limits). Check your procedure's current checklist; the applicable date is generally the certificate's issuance date. We flag timing issues before submission.
• Name mismatch across documents — Your name must be spelled identically on the document being apostilled and on the ID you submit. Maiden names, hyphenations, or missing accents cause rejections.
• Missing intermediate certification — Some documents (private contracts, notarized affidavits) require notarization before apostille. Skipping this step causes immediate rejection. We identify whether this applies to your document.

Why clients trust us with their documents