If you are looking to have a document certified for use in another country, you may be required to have that document “legalised”. However, where that country is a signatory to the Hague Convention of 1961, it will usually be possible to use a far more streamlined method of document legalisation, known as an apostille. In this way, you can do away with diplomatic or consular legalisation processes, saving you both time and money.

What is the Hague Convention of 1961?

The Hague Convention of 1961, also known as the Apostille Convention, abolished the requirement of Embassy Legalisation for foreign public documents to be used in signatory countries, thereby simplifying the formalities and facilitating the use of official documents abroad. Under the Convention, rather than adopting a lengthy chain of authentications, which can be slow and costly, an apostille can be used to verify the authenticity, for example, of UK documents in another country and foreign documents for use in the UK.

The competent authority for issuing apostilles in the UK is the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). Blair works alongside the FCDO to assist customers in obtaining an apostille on their UK documents, where necessary, for use overseas.

What are the origins of the Hague Convention?

When using official documentation in other countries, it is usually necessary to have some form of authentication — otherwise the task of judging the authenticity of a document on presentation would place an unreasonable burden on any party to whom that document is provided. The purpose of the Hague Convention was to abolish the traditional requirement of legalisation, replacing this often long and expensive process with the issuance of a single apostille certificate by a competent authority in the place where the document originates.

At national level, neither legalisation, nor the simpler apostille process, are needed. This is because the legal maxim of acta probant sese ipsa (the documents prove themselves) is applied, meaning that formal documents are presumed authentic unless proven otherwise. In contrast, at international level, some form of authentication is usually necessary, although given the uniform appearance of apostilles and the simplicity with which apostille authenticity can be checked, the acta probant sese ipsa maxim can again take effect.

In the UK, the apostille is a stamped official certificate in a prescribed format, placed on either a slip of paper attached to the document or on the document itself. The certificate is dated, numbered, and registered, then embossed with the FCDO official seal. However, you can obtain either a paper-based apostille or an e-apostille.

In due course, verification of the apostille certificate can be easily carried out by any overseas party in receipt of a document verified in this way. This can be done by means of a simple request to the authority that delivered the certificate, allowing signatory countries to utilise the same legal presumption of authenticity applied to domestic documents.

What are the Hague Convention countries?

More than 120 countries are members of the Hague Convention and will therefore accept apostille certificates, provided the certificate was issued in the document’s country.

Countries not listed below will normally still require an apostille, but they may also require additional legalisation or attestation via their local embassy or consulate.

A: Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan

B: Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burundi

C: Cabo Verde, Chile, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic

D: Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic

E: Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Eswatini

F: Fiji, Finland, France

G: Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana

H: Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary

I: Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy

J: Jamaica, Japan

K: Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan

L: Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg

M: Macau, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco

N: Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niue, North Macedonia, Norway

O: Oman

P: Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal

R: Romania, Russian Federation

S: Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea (Republic of Korea), Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland

T: Tajikistan, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Türkiye

U: Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan

V: Vanuatu, Venezuela

What is the impact of the Hague Convention on foreign documents?

Although the apostille process under the Hague Convention reduces the administrative burden arising from legalisation, it does not remove it. Still, by abolishing the series of authentication steps to achieve Embassy Legalisation for foreign documents, the convention has simplified the otherwise complicated process of using public documents outside their countries of origin.

Under international law, the legalisation process for many countries has been reduced from a sequence of authentication stages to a simple certification of an official document in a prescribed form for use outside of the country from which it came.
To discuss our legalisation services further, and to find out more about how the Hague Convention can impact the foreign documents required for you or your business, please telephone our Sales Team on +44 (0) 1784 254123 or contact us to learn more today.

Legal disclaimer

The matters contained within this article are intended to be for general information purposes only. This blog does not constitute legal advice, nor is it a complete or authoritative statement of the law in England and Wales and should not be treated as such. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information is correct, no warranty, either express or implied, is given as to the accuracy of the blog contents, and no liability is accepted for any errors or omissions. Before acting on any of the information contained herein, expert advice should be sought.