Apostille & Consular Legalizations

An apostille is a certificate issued by a designated government authority — typically a Secretary of State's office or the U.S. Department of State — that authenticates the origin of a document for use in countries that are members of the Hague Apostille Convention. It's a single-step legalization process that eliminates the need for consular authentication.

Over 120 countries are members of the Hague Apostille Convention, including most of Europe, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Mexico, and Brazil. If the destination country is a Hague member, an apostille is all you need. If it's not, you'll need a consular legalization instead. Use our country search tool to check your destination country.

Processing times vary by state and the issuing authority. Standard processing can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks. Use our free estimate tool to get a processing time estimate for your specific request.

Most notarized documents, certified copies, and certain government-issued documents can receive an apostille. Common examples in IP work include powers of attorney, assignment documents, corporate resolutions, and notarized true copies.

Our $190 fee covers our service for processing 1 document through 1 legalization step. It does not include government fees, state certification fees, or shipping costs. For a complete cost breakdown, use our free online estimator or email us at [email protected].

Yes. We offer tiered pricing for multi-document orders — the per-document fee decreases as you add more documents. See our fee schedule for details, and note that all documents in a single order must be destined for the same country.

A consular legalization is the process of authenticating a document through a foreign country's embassy or consulate for use in that country. It's required when the destination country is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention and does not accept apostilles.

An apostille is a single-step process for Hague Convention member countries. A consular legalization is a multi-step process that typically involves notarization, state authentication, U.S. Department of State authentication, and finally processing at the foreign consulate. It takes longer and costs more, but it's required for non-Hague countries.

Countries that are not members of the Hague Apostille Convention require consular legalization. Use our country search tool to check whether your destination country accepts apostilles or requires consular legalization.

The timeline varies significantly depending on the destination country and the consulate's current processing times. A full consular legalization can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months. Use our free estimate tool for a timeline estimate based on your specific country and documents.

Our $300 fee covers our service for processing 1 document through 1 legalization step. It does not include government fees, consular fees, or shipping costs. Many consular legalizations require multiple steps, each priced at $100 per additional step. Use our free estimator for a complete cost breakdown.