Managing international documents is often tedious and time-consuming. Rather than spending valuable time dealing with various government agencies, let us apostillize and/or legalize your documents on your behalf.

We have worked with the various government agencies, many of the local consulates, as well as the embassies in Washington DC. For both families and businesses, we will help you accomplish your goals efficiently and with care and professionalism.

Depending on the destination country, a document that is intended for international use needs either an apostille or authenticated legalization certificate. Without these certificates, your document may not be recognized in a foreign country. Generally speaking, documents that can be notarized can be apostillized or legalized.

An apostille, (a-pos-TEE, French for certification), is a certificate that authenticates the origins of a public document. In the Untied States, apostilles are issued by the US Department of State and the relevant Department of State. The apostille verifies the authenticity of a public official’s signature and seal.

Countries that are signatories of the Apostille Convention (the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents) will accept the apostille as proof of authentication.

For more information on what an apostille is and its purpose, view this pdf.

You can check this site to see if your country is part of the Apostille Convention click here.

If the document is to be used in a country that does not accept apostilles, a more complex process for an authentication legalization certificate is required. In most cases, after being authenticated by the New York Department of State, the documents will require further processing at the federal level and/or consulates, embassies and chamber of commerce.

As the authentication legalization process varies from country to country, the time and cost of obtaining an authentication can differ. Please contact us for more details.

We have worked with various countries such as:

• Canada
• China
• India
• Ireland
• Italy
• Mexico
• Russia
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• And many more

Notary New York is not a law firm and cannot give legal advice. Only an attorney can give legal advice. Please contact the receiving party / destination country for specific questions regarding your document(s).

In order to legalize business documents, some consulates/embassies may require a Certificate of Good Standing, business license, and/or a Certificate of Incorporation (Articles of Incorporation) or Articles of Association.

Please note that successful submission of the application to a local, state, national, foreign, or private entity such as a Chamber of Commerce or other institution does not guarantee approval/authentication of the document by that institution.

Notary - What is in a name?

While you can translate the word "Notary" into many different languages, the true meaning can vary quite a bit. The role of a Notary varies greatly internationally. In general, a US Notary has powers and qualifications that are limited compared to their international counterparts. Specifically, an American notary need not have a law degree. Most importantly a notary public is NOT a lawyer, and can not give legal advice. In most US states, including New York, a notary can not certify documents. As an alternative, an attested copy of your documents is often accepted in lieu of a certified copy.

We can obtain apostilles and/or authentications/legalizations for the following countries. If your country is not on this list, please call us for more information.

• Algeria
• Afghanistan
• Albania
• Andorra
• Angola
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Argentina
• Armenia
• Australia
• Austria
• Azerbaijan
• Bahamas
• Bahrain
• Bangladesh
• Barbados
• Belarus
• Belgium
• Belize
• Benin
• Bhutan
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bolivia
• Botswana
• Brazil
• Brunei
• Bulgaria
• Burkina Faso
• Burma
• Burundi
• Cambodia
• Cameroon
• Canada
• Cape Verde

• Chad
• Chile
• People’s Republic of China
• Columbia
• Comoros
• Congo
• Cook Islands
• Costa Rica
• Cote d’Ivoire
• Croatia
• Cuba
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Djibouti
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• East Timor
• Egypt
• Ethiopia
• El Salvador
• Eritrea
• Estonia
• Fiji
• Finland
• France
• Gabon
• Gambia
• Georgia
• Germany
• Ghana
• Greece

• Grenada
• Guatemala
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Haiti
• Honduras
• Hong Kong
• Hungary
• Iceland
• India
• Indonesia
• Iran
• Iraq
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Jamaica
• Japan
• Jordan
• Kazakhstan
• Kenya
• Kiribati
• Kuwait
• Kyrgyzstan
• Laos
• Latvia
• Lebanon
• Lesotho
• Liberia
• Libya
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Macau

• Macedonia
• Madagascar
• Malaysia
• Malawi
• Maldives
• Mali
• Malta
• Marshall Islands
• Mauritania
• Mauritius
• Mexico
• Micronesia
• Moldova
• Monaco
• Mongolia
• Montenegro
• Morocco
• Mozambique
• Myanmar
• Namibia
• Nauru
• Nepal
• The Netherlands
• New Guinea
• New Zealand
• Nicaragua
• Niger
• Nigeria
• Niue
• North Korea
• Norway
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Palau

• Palestine
• Panama
• Papua
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Philippines
• Poland
• Portugal
• Qatar
• Romania
• Russia
• Rwanda
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Samoa
• San Marino
• São Tomé and Príncipe
• Saudi Arabia
• Senegal
• Serbia
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leona
• Singapore
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Solomon Island
• Somalia
• South Africa
• South Korea (Republic of Korea)
• Spain

• Sri Lanka
• Sudan
• Suriname
• Swaziland
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Syria
• Taiwan
• Tajikistan
• Tanzania
• Thailand
• Togo
• Tonga
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan
• Ukraine
• United Arab Emirates
• Untied Kingdom
• Uganda
• Uruguay
• Uzbekistan
• Vanuatu
• Venezuela
• Vietnam
• Yemen
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe