An apostille is a stamp that certifies the authenticity of a document. This type of certification is most often used for international legal documents, such as birth certificates and marriage certificates.
The United States does not have any standardization for apostilles, but most countries do. The United States will accept an apostille from any country that has adopted the Hague Convention of 1961. If a document does not have an apostille from one of these countries, it will need to be authenticated by another method in order to be accepted by the United States.
The process of getting a document apostilled is actually pretty straightforward in US. The same goes for Houston, Texas. You can hire a professional apostille service Houston to help you in the process or you can do it yourself.
First, you’ll need to find out where the document was issued. It’s important to get this right because each country has its own rules about which documents can be issued with an apostille and what other paperwork is required. You should also make sure that your document is notarized in accordance with the laws of the country where it was issued.
Once you know where your document was issued, visit the website of the organization that issues apostilles. There will be instructions on how to fill out their application form, which will ask for identifying information about both yourself and your company as well as information about the issuing authority and its location. They may also ask for copies of some or all of these documents:
- A copy of your identification card (such as a driver’s license)
- A copy of your business license or registration
- A certificate showing that your company has been in operation for at least three years