Think of it as a passport stamp for paper. A birth certificate from Ohio means nothing to a registry office in Spain until someone Spain trusts can say the Ohio official's signature is genuine. Before the convention, that meant embassy or consulate "legalisation." The convention replaced it with one step: the apostille.
The part people miss is what an apostille does not do. It doesn't check that the document's contents are true, and it doesn't translate anything. As California's Secretary of State puts it, the apostille "does not validate the contents of the document." It vouches for the person who signed.
What an apostille is
Under the convention's text, the only formality a member country may require to certify the signature, the signer's capacity, and the seal or stamp is this certificate, issued by the competent authority of the country the document came from. It sits on the document itself or on an attached page called an "allonge," titled in French: "Apostille (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961)."
Which office issues it depends on who signed the original:
- Federal documents (signed by a U.S. federal official, consular officer, or military notary) go to the State Department's Office of Authentications.
- State and notarized documents go to the state's own authority. In California and Texas, that's the Secretary of State.
Which kind of certificate you get depends on the destination. The State Department issues apostilles for countries in the 1961 convention and authentication certificates for countries that aren't. The HCCH status table lists the member countries.
What's on it
The table below is the practical map: who issues the certificate, and what each office says it needs.
| Situation | Who issues it | What the source says |
|---|---|---|
| Federal document, destination in the convention | State Department, Office of Authentications | Original or certified copy; do not notarize; Form DS-4194 plus a fee |
| Destination not in the convention | U.S. Department of State | Authentication certificate instead of an apostille |
| State-issued document (birth, death) from California | California Secretary of State | One apostille, valid for any country outside the U.S.; covers signatures of county clerks, county recorders, and the State Registrar |
| Notarized document from Texas | Texas Secretary of State | Must receive the original notarized document; one universal apostille works for any foreign country |
| Document for a U.S. territory (for example Puerto Rico) | None | California says apostilles are for use outside the U.S. only |
| Documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents | Outside the convention | Article 1 excludes them, as well as administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations |
Fees change, so confirm them with your office. At the time of writing, the State Department lists $20 per document, and California lists $20 per apostille.
What to keep and for how long
No official source gives a retention period for an apostille, because it isn't a record you "file." It's part of the document it's attached to. Keep it for as long as you may need to prove that document abroad, which for a birth, marriage, or degree certificate can be years.
A few habits that come straight from the rules above:
- Keep the original together with its apostille. Texas, for one, must receive the original notarized document to issue its apostille.
- Scan both as one file. A phone scan of the document plus the apostille page makes a good backup, though not a substitute for the original. Note the country it was issued for.
- Plan for translation separately. If the destination requires one, the State Department says to get a professional translator and have the translation, not the original, notarized.
See how to scan documents on iPhone for the backup, international travel documents for what else to carry, and certified copy vs notarized copy for the usual starting point.
Rules differ by country and by agency, and this isn't legal advice. Ask the receiving authority exactly what it wants before you pay for anything.