Over the past few decades, aspiring individuals have travelled across countries to find new knowledge and opportunities. This has led to a global shift where every sending country has experienced a significant decrease in the labor pool. Let’s know more about document apostille.

As emigration plays a big role in alleviating unemployment, many countries have started working together to ease the process.

There are two procedures that countries allow for emigration, which are attestation and apostille. Since the US is a part of the Hague Convention of 1961, it allows the latter, for which you have to comply with a set of detailed requirements.

However, before you learn about the apostille requirements, it is important that you understand why you need them.

Why do you Need Document Apostille?

As already mentioned above, Document Apostille is accepted by the Hague Convention of 1961 member countries. There are about 117 member nations, and it acts as a legal seal that proves your documents’ authenticity to them.

According to the US government, these said “documents” here are any documentation that is:

Certified by an American or foreign consul
Issues by a federal agency

Since more people plan to build a future abroad, there is a significant increase in such authentication service providers. This is why if you look for apostille in New Jersey, there is a fair chance that you will find one near you.

However, this increase has also made it easier for you to move across “Hague Countries”. Though the process of apostille is significantly complicated, it is a mandatory procedure for your emigration. So, having a service provider that operates near you is precisely what you need to reduce your efforts.

But, that’s not the only thing you will need!

Apostille Requirements

Before you submit your documents for authentication, the US government asks you to notarize every document in the presence of a notary public.

You need to follow two separate procedures depending upon whether the notary public is commissioned through the country or a state. That is:

Country: The clerk of court in the country (where the notary is commissioned) needs to certify the documents first. After that, the secretary of state (where the document was notarized) needs to certify them.
State: In this case, only the secretary of state will suffice. So, if your documents were notarized in New Jersey, only the secretary’s certification is enough for you to seek assistance for apostille in NJ.

The US Government further provides a detailed set of steps you should follow to notarize and certify your documents. Moreover, it clearly states that it cannot process your request if you do not have the required notarization before submitting the paperwork.

So, if you are planning to move to one of the 1961 Hague Convention countries, do remember to authenticate your documents. And should you forget what you need, refer to this to know the apostille requirements.