Convention on Apostille

This Convention shall apply to public documents executed in the territory of one Contracting State and intended for production in the territory of another Contracting State. The following shall be considered public documents within the meaning of this Convention:

• a)

  documents emanating from an authority or official connected with the courts or tribunals of a State, including those emanating from the public prosecutor's office, a clerk of a court, or a judicial officer;

• b)

  administrative documents;

• c)

  notarial documents;

• d)

  official certifications that have been placed upon private documents, such as certifications of registration, declarations regarding the accuracy of a date, and certifications of signatures. However, this Convention shall not apply:

  • a)

    to documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents;

  • b)

    to administrative documents that deal directly with a commercial or customs matter.

Each Contracting State shall exempt from legalization documents to which this Convention applies and which are intended for production in its territory. Legalization, within the meaning of this Convention, shall only comprise the formality by which the diplomatic or consular agents of the country in which the document is intended to take effect certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory of the document has acted, and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which the document bears.

The only formality that may be required in order to certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory of the document has acted, and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which the document bears, shall be the addition of the Apostille described in Article 4, issued by the competent authority of the State from which the document emanates. However, the formality mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall not be required when the laws, regulations, or usages in force in the State in which the document is intended to take effect, or an agreement between two or more Contracting States, provide otherwise or dispense with legalization of the document itself.

The Apostille provided for in the first paragraph of Article 3 shall be placed on the document itself or on an extension thereof and shall be in the form prescribed in the model annexed to this Convention. However, the Apostille may be drawn up in the official language of the authority that issues it. The entries in the Apostille may also be drawn up in a second language. The heading "Apostille (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961)" shall be in the French language.

The Apostille shall be issued at the request of the signatory or of any holder of the document. When properly completed, it shall certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory has acted, and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which the document bears. The signature, seal, or stamp which appear on the Apostille shall be exempt from any further certification.

Each Contracting State shall designate the authorities, considered as acting in their official capacity, which are competent to issue the Apostille provided for in the first paragraph of Article 3. Each Contracting State shall notify this designation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands at the time of the deposit of its instrument of ratification or of accession or of its declaration of extension. It shall also notify the Ministry of any changes in the designation of these authorities.

Each of the authorities designated in accordance with Article 6 shall keep a register or file in which shall be recorded the Apostilles issued, showing: a) the serial number and date of the Apostille, b) the name of the signatory of the public document and the capacity in which he has acted, or, for unsigned documents, the indication of the authority which has affixed the seal or stamp. Upon request by any interested person, the authority that has issued the Apostille shall verify whether the entries in the Apostille correspond with the entries in the register or file.

When a treaty, convention, or agreement between two or more Contracting States contains provisions that subject the certification of a signature, seal, or stamp to certain formalities, this Convention shall only nullify those provisions if such formalities are more rigorous than those provided for in Articles 3 and 4.

Each Contracting State shall take the necessary measures to prevent its diplomatic or consular agents from performing legalization in cases where this Convention provides for exemption from legalization.

This Convention shall be open for signature by the States represented at the Ninth Session of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, as well as by Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Turkey. It shall be ratified, and the instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

This Convention shall enter into force sixty days after the deposit of the third instrument of ratification provided for in the second paragraph of Article 10. The Convention shall enter into force, for each signatory State that ratifies it subsequently, sixty days after the deposit of its instrument of ratification.

Any State to which Article 10 does not apply may accede to this Convention, once the Convention has entered into force in virtue of the first paragraph of Article 11. The instrument of accession shall be deposited with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Accession shall only have effect in the relations between the acceding State and those Contracting States which have not made an objection within six months of the receipt of the notification referred to in Article 15, paragraph d). Such objection shall be notified to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. The Convention shall enter into force between the acceding State and the States which have not raised an objection to the accession sixty days after the expiry of the six-month period mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

Any State may declare, at the time of signature, ratification, or accession, that this Convention shall extend to all the territories of which such State is responsible for the international relations, or to one or more of them. Such declaration shall take effect at the moment of the entry into force of the Convention for that State. Subsequently, any extension of this kind shall be notified to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. When the declaration of extension is made by a State which has signed and ratified the Convention, the Convention shall enter into force for the territories concerned in accordance with the provisions of Article 11. When the declaration of extension is made by a State which has acceded to the Convention, the Convention shall enter into force for the territories concerned in accordance with the provisions of Article 12.

This Convention shall continue in force for five years from the date of its entry into force in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 11, even for States which have subsequently ratified it or acceded to it. Unless denunciation has been notified, the Convention shall be renewed tacitly for successive periods of five years. Denunciation shall be notified to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands at least six months before the expiry of the five-year period. It may be limited to certain territories to which the Convention applies. Denunciation shall only have effect as regards the State which has notified it. The Convention shall remain in force for the other Contracting States.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands shall notify the States referred to in Article 10, as well as the States which have acceded in accordance with Article 12, of the following:

• a)

  the notifications referred to in the second paragraph of Article 6;

• b)

  the signatures and ratifications provided for in Article 10;

• c)

  the date upon which this Convention enters into force in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 11;

• d)

  the accessions and objections mentioned in Article 12 and the date on which accessions shall take effect;

• e)

  the extensions provided for in Article 13 and the date on which they take effect;

• f)

  the denunciations provided for in the third paragraph of Article 14. In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorized, have signed this Convention. Done at The Hague on 5 October 1961, in the French and English languages, the French text prevailing in case of divergence, in a single copy which shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the Netherlands and of which a certified copy shall be sent by diplomatic channels to each of the States represented at the Ninth Session of the Hague Conference on Private International Law and also to Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, and Turkey.

of the Convention. APOSTILLE (Hague Convention of October 5, 1961) 1. Country:.......................................................................... This public document 2. has been signed by................................................. 3. who acts in the capacity of........................................ 4. and is affixed with the seal/stamp of........................ .......................................................................……. Certified 5. in ............................ 6. on the day ....................... 7. by........................................................................... ................................................. .............................. 8. No. ........................... 9. Seal/stamp: 10. Signature: ........................ ..........................................