Apostilles authenticate seals and signature
An Apostille is a certificate issued by a designated authority in a country where The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization of Foreign Public Documents, also known as “Apostille Convention”, is in force. Apostilles authenticate the seals and signatures of officials on public documents such as birth, marriage, divorce, and death certificates, notarials, court orders, or any other document issued by a public authority, so that they can be recognized in foreign countries that are parties to The Hague Convention (1961).
Competent Authorities to issue Apostilles: The US case
In the United States, there are multiple designated Competent Authorities to issue Apostilles, and the authority to issue an Apostille for a particular document depends on the origin of the document in question:
- Federal executive branch documents, such as FBI background checks, are authenticated by the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office.
- State documents such as notarizations or vital records are authenticated by designated state competent authorities, usually the state Secretary of State.
How and where do you request an Apostille? What documents are required? What is the cost?
You can consult the website of the Secretary of State of the State where your document has been issued and refer to the section regarding Authentications and/or Apostille. Here below, you will find a list of US States and the websites of the Secretaries of State.
For information and instructions on obtaining an Apostille / authentication for documents NOT issued in the United States of America, please contact the Vital Records department of the competent Italian Consulate/Embassy in whose jurisdiction the documents were originally issued.
This article was written by Giuditta De Ricco and Valentina Giannessi
