I have a posting on my social media accounts that says, “You never know you need a notary until you need a notary.” The same could be said about apostille. In fact, it might even be more accurate to say that “You don’t know what an apostille is until you need an apostille.” So, what is an apostille? An apostille is a specialized certificate that is attached to your original documents that authenticates the signature of a public official for use in another country. This is used to in order to avoid complications with the country your documents are intended for as they have been fully verified. Still confused…? Below are some examples to put it in perspective for you.
Example 1:
Your grandmother, who is from Ireland still has a house there but has been living in the Florida for over 10 years, when she passes. The house now needs to be sold in order to close and finalize her estate. In order to be allowed to sell the house you might need to provide to someone in Ireland and authenticated copy of her death certificate, as well as perhaps an authenticated Order from a Florida probate court granting you authorization to sell the home on behalf of the Estate.
Example 2:
You were married and subsequently divorced in Florida and then moved overseas for an amazing job opportunity. There you met someone and are now engaged and planning to be married. However, the country has requested that you get a certified and authenticated copy of the final judgment of divorce.
Example 3:
You want to get married overseas and they need an authenticated copy of your birth certificate.
Example 4:
Your child wants to attend Oxford’s medical program in the United Kingdom. They need to get a copy of their prior college’s transcript authenticated.
You think to yourself:
Example 1: “Yeah, no big deal, I can get a copy of the death certificate and Order from the court and send it to where it needs to go.”
Example 2: “So, I send a copy of the order to whoever needs it.”
Example 3: “I have that.”
Example 4: “I just need to call the registrar’s office and get a copy.”
But did you know that birth and death certificates need to be signed by a governmental official, not a doctor...? And the key word in all of these scenarios was “authenticated”. You cannot just send in copies of the documents, as they must first be “certified” by a governmental authority as to the authenticity of the issuing official and/or Notary Public.
If you’re trying to get this done yourself, you may run in roadblocks because you may not understand the nuances of the October 5, 1961 Hague Convention doctrine (“Doctrine”) on abolishing the requirement of legalization for foreign documents, which governs what steps need to be taken in order to get your document(s) properly apostilled. If a country has not signed the Doctrine, then you will need to get your documents first authenticated at the State level and then further authenticated at the Federal level. What if the country your documents are going to requires that the documents be translated in that countries language (perhaps French)? Do you know where you can go to get that done? You cannot use your friend who knows how to speak, read, and write in French; it must be done by licensed translator.
Some notaries, since often times we are asked to notarize the documents that subsequently need to be authenticated, are trained to assist individuals in navigating the apostille terrain. I have been trained and certified on the apostille process; I know what countries part of the Doctrine, so that I can ensure that your document(s) are authenticated with the right agencies. I have information for translators that have translated many documents for the purpose of getting documents apostilled.
If you have a document that needs to be apostilled, please do not hesitate to contact me for assistance.
Shannon “Ivy” Colón, Florida Notary Public
Certified Remote Online Notary
NNA Certified Notary Signing Agent (background screened)
(561) 325- 8579
Please note that the above was provided for informational purposes only and should be construed as legal advice. I am not a license attorney and cannot give legal advice. If you have legal questions, please contact a Florida licensed attorney. I can provide you with a referral if you need one.
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