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Official sources

Official apostille resources: what to check, and why

Start with the document and its intended use. Then check whether authentication is required at all. If it is, identify the applicable route and the authority competent for the signature or record. Official sources are available directly; using Notary Geek is optional.

Check HCCH sources Start apostille request Official resources JSON

Check these questions in order

1. Identify the document, issuer and intended use

Identify the original record or certified copy, the public official whose signature or seal matters, where it originates, and the intended destination and receiving office. Obtain the recipient’s written instructions. A signer-created document may need a notarial act; an existing official record may need the issuing office’s certified record instead.

Sources: Apostille Convention: treaty text United States: designated competent authorities HCCH Handbook: English second edition

2. Check whether authentication is needed

An apostille is not required for every document going abroad. Check whether the recipient requires authentication and whether destination law, practice or an applicable agreement waives or simplifies it. Preserve the no-apostille route when supported. A request for a translation, certified copy or particular document format is a separate question.

Sources: Apostille Convention: treaty text HCCH Handbook: English second edition

3. Check the relationship, then the competent authority

If authentication is needed, check treaty scope, relevant origin and destination, entry into force, objections or withdrawals, territorial coverage and relevant dates. A destination-country list alone cannot decide the route. For an applicable Convention route, use the designated authority competent for that document. Otherwise confirm the authentication/legalization requirements with the relevant authorities; do not assume one universal chain.

Sources: Apostille Convention: treaty text HCCH status table and linked notes HCCH competent-authority directory United States: designated competent authorities

4. Follow the office’s current instructions

Confirm eligible originals or certified copies, any prior certifications, the correct form, fees, payment, submission and return requirements. Use the official direct route when it fits. An intermediary is not inherently required. If instructions conflict, retain the exact document and written requirement and ask the responsible office to clarify before filing.

Sources: Apostille Convention: treaty text HCCH Handbook: English second edition U.S. Department of State: Office of Authentications Florida Department of State: apostilles and notarial certifications California Secretary of State: request an apostille Delaware Division of Corporations: certifications and apostilles Wyoming Secretary of State: apostilles/authentications

HCCH: treaty, status, designations and guidance

These sources answer different questions. Read their labels and limitations together.

Treaty text

Apostille Convention: treaty text

Read the scope, exclusions, authentication effect, exemption rule, designation and verification duties, and accession/territorial provisions.

Limit: Treaty text is not a current country-pair status report or a ruling on the underlying document.

Where to look: Articles 1–8, 12–13; Article 4 links the certificate model

Publication: Concluded 5 October 1961

Retrieved: 2026-10-25. Reviewed: 2026-10-25.

Official treaty-status record

HCCH status table and linked notes

Check entry-into-force dates for the relevant origin and destination, objections and withdrawals, territorial extensions and linked notifications.

Limit: A Contracting Party listing alone does not establish that the Convention applies between the relevant places on the relevant date. Follow the linked notes.

Where to look: Table legend; EIF, EXT and Res/D/N/DC columns; accession links

Retrieved: 2026-10-25. Reviewed: 2026-10-25.

Official designation directory

HCCH competent-authority directory

Find the designated issuing or verifying authority in the document’s place of origin, then check its document-specific competence and current instructions.

Limit: HCCH supplies the directory; its Permanent Bureau does not issue or verify apostilles. Not every designated office handles every document.

Where to look: Country entries and Article 6 designations

Retrieved: 2026-10-25. Reviewed: 2026-10-25.

HCCH practical guidance

HCCH Apostille Handbook: publication and editions

Find the second edition and language versions; use the Handbook to understand practical operation alongside the treaty and local law.

Limit: The Handbook explains the Convention; it is not a treaty amendment or controlling domestic law.

Where to look: Second-edition description and language links

Publication: Second edition, 2023

Retrieved: 2026-10-25. Reviewed: 2026-10-25.

HCCH practical guidance

HCCH Handbook: English second edition

Consult document and certificate distinctions (§§116–122, 162–164), direct application (§§189–192), electronic form (§§215–220) and e-APP components (§§313–320).

Limit: Read the relevant qualifications and footnotes. The authority’s actual procedures and the recipient’s separate document requirements still matter.

Where to look: Named paragraph numbers; printed pagination differs from PDF page numbering

Publication: Second edition, 2023

Retrieved: 2026-10-25. Reviewed: 2026-10-25.

Official HCCH resource hub

HCCH Apostille Section and e-APP resources

Reach the acceptance notice, electronic Apostille Programme materials and current official downloads.

Limit: Separate the apostille’s electronic form from the underlying document’s form and legal effect; an e-Register is not electronic issuance.

Where to look: Important information on e-Apostilles; e-APP links

Retrieved: 2026-10-25. Reviewed: 2026-10-25.

Non-binding HCCH guidance

e-APP: Key Principles and Good Practices

Understand preservation of electronic signatures and files, access and verification practices.

Limit: These are expressly non-binding good practices, not a universal service deadline or entitlement to electronic processing.

Where to look: Introduction; principles 1–4, pp1–2

Publication: 2021 principles endorsed in 2022

Retrieved: 2026-10-25. Reviewed: 2026-10-25.

HCCH implementation directory

e-APP implementation chart and e-Registers

Find authority-specific electronic issuance and verification coverage, including date limits and notes.

Limit: Information supplied by Parties may arrive with delay. A listed Party may have other authorities without e-APP; an e-Register does not mean every certificate is electronic.

Where to look: Page 1 scope and footnote 1; authority rows and date/coverage notes

Retrieved: 2026-10-25. Reviewed: 2026-10-25.

U.S. federal and selected state sources

Choose by the record or signature, not your location. For other states or territories, begin with the U.S. designation entry and that authority’s current official instructions. This selected list does not cover every jurisdiction.

Official designation directory

United States: designated competent authorities

Distinguish federal-agency records, consular vital records, federal-court records and state/D.C./territorial records before choosing an office.

Limit: Office of Authentications, Passport Services Vital Records, federal-court clerks and state/territorial authorities have different scopes. A D.C. apostille is not federal authentication.

Where to look: Opening scope paragraphs and designated-authority list

Retrieved: 2026-10-25. Reviewed: 2026-10-25.

Federal agency instructions

U.S. Department of State: Office of Authentications

For the Office’s eligible documents, follow preparation links, Form DS-4194 and current submission/payment/return instructions. Direct mail and in-person options are described.

Limit: Check the designated authority first; not all federal records belong to this office. Listed service times and access conditions can change.

Where to look: Request steps; preparation links; services and address sections

Retrieved: 2026-10-25. Reviewed: 2026-10-25.

State agency instructions

Florida Department of State: apostilles and notarial certifications

Check eligible Florida signatures/records, document-specific prerequisites, the official request form, fees, payment and direct mailing instructions.

Limit: Florida does not become the issuing authority merely because the customer or service is in Florida. Other-state and federal records have separate routes.

Where to look: How to File; Fees; Acceptable Types; What if my document isn’t listed?

Retrieved: 2026-10-25. Reviewed: 2026-10-25.

State agency instructions

California Secretary of State: request an apostille

Check California public-official signatures, document and cover-sheet requirements, fees, return arrangements and direct mail/in-person options.

Limit: Check current office instructions and document prerequisites. This is not a guarantee of timing or recipient acceptance.

Where to look: Mail and in-person instructions; FAQ and processing-time links

Retrieved: 2026-10-25. Reviewed: 2026-10-25.

State agency instructions

Delaware Division of Corporations: certifications and apostilles

Check Delaware certifications, authentication and notary-good-standing distinctions and the linked document-request procedures.

Limit: Delaware’s commercial/non-commercial service categories are not themselves the treaty exclusion for administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations.

Where to look: Apostille, Authentication, Notary Good Standing and Commercial Use questions

Retrieved: 2026-10-25. Reviewed: 2026-10-25.

State agency instructions

Wyoming Secretary of State: apostilles/authentications

Check Wyoming authentication instructions, linked request materials and current direct-submission/contact options.

Limit: Confirm current appointment and document conditions with the office; a company’s location does not authenticate a different state’s notary signature.

Where to look: Apostilles / Authentications section and linked request materials

Retrieved: 2026-10-25. Reviewed: 2026-10-25.

What authentication does and does not settle

Which document was authenticated?

An apostille authenticates the relevant public signature, official capacity and, where appropriate, seal or stamp; it does not certify the truth of the contents or guarantee the underlying document’s legal effect. An apostille on a notarized cover statement is not automatically an apostille on the attached company, vital, court or federal record. Identify the actual certificate and signature chain.

Sources: Apostille Convention: treaty text HCCH Handbook: English second edition

Keep the certificate and the underlying document separate

A paper apostille, an e-Apostille, an electronic underlying record and a paper reproduction are different things. Check authority-supported issuance/conversion and preserve the issued file or attachment. Authentication does not settle translation, filing, substantive validity or every recipient requirement. For an electronic-form refusal, obtain the written reason and named office; use the recipient guide to separate certificate recognition from underlying-document issues.

Sources: Apostille Convention: treaty text HCCH Handbook: English second edition HCCH Apostille Section and e-APP resources e-APP: Key Principles and Good Practices e-APP implementation chart and e-Registers

Notary Geek explanations

These reviewed explanations work through the questions and link the supporting authorities. They are Notary Geek editorial guidance, not government or treaty text.

Notary Geek explanation

Do I need an apostille?

Worked explanations of scope, exemptions, relationship and date checks, with primary citations.

Business verification is a separate question

BBB and Google profiles can help check business details and customer feedback. They are not government or legal authority and do not establish a document’s route or recipient acceptance. The trust-source and founder pages retain the business/source trail. Operating figures elsewhere on this site are Notary Geek’s own background claims, not independent legal proof.

Notary Geek operating background

These are existing Notary Geek claims from its own records, retained as business background. Their underlying figures were not independently refreshed in this page update. They are not proof of government authority or a document’s legal route.

180+
countries where Notary Geek has served clients or document requests
50
U.S. states covered for apostille support
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Scope and source freshness

A source guide for document authentication, with selected U.S. agency entry points. Not a complete jurisdiction directory or an individual route determination.

The official-source entries and their described functions were retrieved and reviewed on 25 October 2026. These are retrieval/review dates, not legal effective dates. Official instructions, designations, treaty relationships and recipient requirements can change. Recheck the source for the transaction date before filing. JSON generation time is not source freshness.

Want help applying these sources to your document?

You can use the official sources directly. If you want Notary Geek to review a U.S. document route, send the document type, issuing office, destination, recipient instructions and deadline. We confirm whether a notary step is needed before final payment.

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