Embassy / Consulate legalization services are required for U.S. documents destined for use in one of the Non-Hague Countries.
What is the meaning of “Non-Hague Countries”?
Countries that didn’t sign the Apostille treaty, which was held in the Hague 1961. The treaty abolishes the bureaucratic document legalization requirements on foreign public document and replace it with a single and simple form of certification, which is “Apostille stamp”
Wikipedia defines “Legalization” as:
In international law, legalization is the process of authenticating or certifying a legal document so a foreign country’s legal system will recognize it as with full legal effect
Keep in Mind:
The required certification depends on the destination country.
Expedited Document Legalization
Procedures for obtaining the “Red Seal” of the destination embassy in the United States:
Let’s say that you have a “Power of Attorney” issued in the State of “New Jersey” and you want to use it in “Egypt”. How to start legalizing your document?
First, you will need to prepare your document for the attestation process. A power of Attorney is the type of documents that requires local notarization in front of a notary public in your State. After that, you can start the legalization process:-
Hint: Other types of documents, such as Birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates do not require any notarization, however; It must be a certified copy recently issued by the Health Department in your State and bear the signature of the current State registrar.
- Secretary of State Certification in all 50 States
Contact your local Secretary of State office for document certification service. You should contact the SOS office in the same State, where the document is issued. The prices and turnaround times vary from a State to another. It is recommended that you call your local Secretary office before you go or send your document.
- US Department of State Authentication in Washington DC
The price is $8.00 per document, turnaround time is 4 business days
- Embassy Legalization / Consular service
The procedures, fees and turnaround time differ from one embassy to another. It is recommended that you contact the embassy directly for more information.
Document legalization process is usually more difficult than the Apostille; as it requires dealing with many governmental departments with various procedures and requirements. DC Apostille provides expedited document Apostille service at reasonable prices. Visit the page of your destination country for full document legalization
No Comment