What is an Apostille?

If you’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing international bureaucracy, chances are you do not know what an Apostille is. But when it comes to issuing birth certificates, death certificates, court papers, diplomas, transcripts, and many other documents that will be used internationally, you are most likely going to need to both know what an Apostille is and how to get one on your documents before you can have them officially translated to use abroad.

On 5 October 1961 the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents was signed and established the international certification of documents that is known as an Apostille.

An Apostille is a printed form or stamp issued by a competent authority within a country that has signed and is adhering to the convention. It essentially functions as the equivalent of an international system for notarization of documents.

As of October 2021, there are currently 121 countries that are contracting states of the Apostille Treaty. This means that if you have a document from one of these counties that needs to be used in another country that adheres to the Apostille Convention, you will likely need to secure an Apostille in the country where it was issued before you can obtain an official translation that can be submitted alongside with the original document to local authorities.

AG Consulting understands that sometimes the intricacies of international bureaucracy can be a challenge, which is why we are committed to working with our clients to ensure that documents are in order to streamline any and all processes and procedures. If you have any questions regarding certified translation of documents from English to Croatian or Croatian to English, please feel free to contact us at hello@agconsulting.hr or +385(97)6-999-777.