Embassy Legalization

Many countries, especially those countries who are not part of the Hague Convention, require a document to be “Certified”-- not “Apostilled” by the Secretary of State and then Legalized.

The Legalization process is usually done at the respective countries Consulate or Embassy. It involves have the document inspected by an Embassy official and then either a ribbon, label or stamp is affixed to the document to show that it has been legalized.

There are many elements required for a document to be Legalized. Also, each countries embassy has different requirements. For example the requirements for Legalizing a document for China is different for that of India or Brazil.

The variables that a countries embassy require for Legalizing of a document include:

Embassies are jurisdictional meaning the location of where the document was signed determines which Embassy it must be legalized in.
Amount of Copies.
State Apostille or Federal Apostille.
Fee per document.
Method of payment – check (personal or corporate), credit card etc.

Accompanying corporate documents including Certificate of Authority, Certificate of Good Standing Etc.
Turnaround time.
Legalization Application.
Translation Required.
Personal ID of singer including Drivers License or Passport.

Global Document Exepeditors has over 15 years experience assisting our clients with the Legalization of Documents. We’ve created a Reference Manual which lists the Embassy Requirements for each country throughout the world. We also have long term working relationships with each embassy as we hand deliver documents to them on a regular basis.

Our clients can utilize our service for Legalizations with the confidence and peace of mind that we will handle these assignments with a positive outcome. Our prices are competitive with discount applied to multiple documents.

For documents that are to be used in countries that are not party to the Hague Convention, then a chain of authentication is applied that eventually includes legalization by the appropriate embassy or consulate of the country of intended use. We can legalize your documents through select Embassy offices in Washington, D.C., and Consulate offices located in New York.

Also, documents issued by the U.S. Federal Government can only be processed through the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. before being presented to the Embassy or Consulate office for legalization.

The U.S. Department of State issues both Authentication Certificates and Apostilles. The determination of which certificate is issued is based on the country in which the document will be used. Authentication Certificates are issued for documents which are destined for use in countries that are not parties to the Hague Apostille Convention.

Apostille Certificates are issued for documents destined for use in countries that are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention.

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