What is an Apostille?

Apostille is an approval document that certifies the master document that has been issued by a state agency. Any country that is a member of the Hague Convention will accept an apostilled document as an official document. On the other hand, countries that are not members of the Hague Convention will require that state-issued documents be authenticated by the state and legalized by the countries’ embassy in Washington DC.

What are the types of documents that can be apostilled in Delaware?

–State-issued corporate documents:

  • Certificate of Formation
  • Certificate of Incorporation
  • Certificate of Good Standing

–State-issued personal documents:

  • Birth certificates,
  • Adoption Certificates
  • Death Certificates
  • Driver’s Licenses

When do I need one?

If you have a company registered in Delaware, you may be required to legalize your company formation documents in order to open a bank account outside of the United States or register in foreign jurisdictions.

How to get an Apostille?

Applicants can go through the Secretary of State for the state from where the document was issued. Whenever a Delaware apostille service is requested for documents that have been filed with the Delaware Secretary of State, each document must be certified separately. Any document that is in a foreign language must have the English translation attached to it. The English version must be notarized.

What is a Certified Copy?

A certified copy is a copy of the original documents signed by a notary public to show that it is a completely legal document. For instance, when opening a bank account, obtaining business licenses, or dealing with certain institutions, it will be requested to provide a certified copy. A certified copy is a certificate with a watermark and state seal. In order to obtain a certified copy, you can contact us via e-mail, phone call or online chat.

Countries that are Party to the Hague Convention

Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, China (Only Hong Kong and Macao, not Mainland China), Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Northern Macedonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Mauritius, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea (Republic of), Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia