Is an Apostille issued for a specific country?
An Apostille is issued by the US Department of State, assuming a properly prepared set of documents; for use in any country signatory to Article 12 of The Hague. This section relates to the international use of personal documents. Thus, an Apostille is not issued for use only in Italy; the same Apostille bearing document can also be used in France. As a New York Mobile Notary Public I am often asked to obtain multiple copies of the Apostille for use in many countries. If you are permitted to show and keep the Apostille bearing document – you need only one; it’s good in all countries that accept an Apostille.
The same is true for the “Certification” – issued in lieu of an Apostille for nations that did not sign Article 12. A Certification that is good in China is also good in Canada. Sometimes the situation involves both signatory and non-signatory nations. Then it will be necessary to obtain an Apostille for the document and also obtain a Certification. You should determine in advance how many copies of each you will be required. Once in Europe, it will be impossible to obtain USA processing, as personal appearance before the notary is part of both the Apostille and Certification process.
Kenneth A. Edelstein has obtained hundreds of Apostille and Certification seals; frequently the same day. The process usually involves notarization of a signature. The only case where a signature is not required is the processing of official documents – birth, death, marriage and divorce documents are the most common. Although the Apostille or Certification is not specific to a country – often the need to have the document translated into a foreign language certainly is.
You should carefully consider how many copies of a document should receive “Apostille” processing. Just as a photocopy of a notarization is not also a notarization; a copy of an Apostille is generally useless. Only the original – in the case of those issued in New York State – with the raised gold seal are generally acceptable. The cost of processing many at once will generally be lower than many individual processing assignments given to an Apostille processing agent.
