Authentications and Apostilles

Foreign governments may request bearers of documents to have them authenticated - legalised. Legalising a document means verifying the signature of the person and/or the seal or stamp it bears.  Please note that this process does not verify the contents of the document.

An apostille involves the addition of a certificate, either stamped on the document itself or attached to the document.  It certifies:

• Country of origin of the document
• Name and identity of the signature
• Capacity in which a document has been signed
• the name of any authority which has affixed a seal or stamp to the document
• place
• date
• number
• official seal

Some examples of public documents include documents issued by a Notary Public, Certificates of Incorporation, Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates.

The apostille enables the presenter to bypass further certification and immediately send or take the documents to the country of intended use. Only certain countries will accept the apostille.

A Certificate of Authentication - both domestic and foreign, only validates the signature of a notary public or certain local or state officers. The certificate of authentication does not validate the contents, completeness, or accuracy of the notarised or issued document. The authentication process includes matching signature and seal with the information on file.

A power of attorney is a document whereby one person confers on another the right to act on his behalf and in that respect the attorney can act just as though he were the donor of the power. Such a power can be used, for instance, to operate bank accounts or to sign documents or deeds.