The Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents

The Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (commonly known as the Apostille Convention) is an international treaty designed to simplify the process of authenticating documents for use abroad.

Under this agreement, member states bypass the traditional, multi-layered chain of certifications that typically culminates at a destination country's embassy. Instead, member nations agree to recognize a single, standardized certificate issued by the originating country's own government. This certificate is called an Apostille.

Once an Apostille is affixed by a designated authority in the home country, the document is legally recognized in any other member country without requiring further embassy or consular legalisation.

Member Countries (Apostille Only)

The following countries are active parties to the 1961 Convention. Documents moving between these nations do not require embassy legalisation:

A – C

• A: Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan

• B: Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burundi

• C: Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, China (including Mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao), Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia

D – J

• D: Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic

• E: Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Eswatini

• F: Fiji, Finland, France

• G: Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana

• H: Honduras, Hungary

• I: Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy

• J: Jamaica, Japan

K – P

• K: Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan

• L: Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg

• M: Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco

• N: Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niue, North Macedonia, Norway

• O: Oman

• P: Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal

R – Z

• R: Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda

• S: Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland

• T: Tajikistan, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Türkiye

• U: Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan

• V – Z: Vanuatu, Venezuela