Contracting State
Any State that has acceded to the Apostille Convention, regardless of whether the Convention has yet entered into force for it. A Contracting State for which the Convention is already in force is also referred to as a Contracting Party. You will find an up-to-date list of all Contracting States on our website.
An apostille takes the place of document legalisation, a procedure that is frequently cumbersome, slow and costly. The word legalisation is still in use today and may be used to mean „to apostille“ or „to provide further confirmation“. It often crops up in situations that could equally be described as „lost in translation“.
Recipient
The person in the destination country to whom an apostilled public document is presented.
Applicant
The person who requests an apostille
Apostille
The certificate issued under the Apostille Convention. A document bearing an apostille is described as „apostilled“.
Production of a public document
The act of presenting a public document in the intended country of destination. A public document may need to be, or may be, produced (i) because the law of the destination country requires it (for instance in court proceedings or an application for permanent residence), or (ii) under some other arrangement (for instance a commercial contract or an application to a private institution).
Country of origin
The State that issued the public document and whose competent authority is asked to issue the apostille. It may also be called the State of execution.
Country of destination
The State, other than the country of origin, in which the (apostilled) public document is presented. It is also widely known as the host State.
Certification / attestation
The rules governing further legalisation procedures with countries that are not party to the Apostille Convention.
You can find an up-to-date list of all Contracting States on our sister site.
Authentication / verification
A general expression usually describing the process of confirming where a public document comes from. The terms authentication and legalisation are frequently used interchangeably, although authentication may also refer to the apostille process.
Issuing an apostille
The act of placing an apostille on, or attaching it to, the relevant public document in order to confirm its origin.
Public document
A wide-ranging concept at the heart of the Apostille Convention. In essence, a public document is one drawn up by a government body or by a person acting in an official capacity. Whether a document counts as public is decided exclusively by the law of the country of origin.
Apostille register
The register in which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office keeps a record of every apostille it issues.
Legalisation
The procedure for verifying foreign official documents. An apostille has the same effect as legalisation, but it is obtained through the simplified procedure introduced by the Hague Convention.