Apostille vs Certificate of Authentication in New York

Both are issued by the New York Secretary of State. Both authenticate a document for use in another country. They look almost identical, they cost the same, and they are not interchangeable. Which one you get depends entirely on where the document is going.

The rule

An apostille is issued for documents going to a country that has joined the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. Member countries agreed to accept each other’s public documents when they carry this single standard certificate. One step, then done.

A Certificate of Authentication is issued for documents going to a country that is not a member. It authenticates the document under New York law, but the destination country never signed the treaty, so it does not automatically accept it. Additional steps usually follow.

Why the non Hague route is longer

With an apostille, the receiving country recognises the certificate directly. Nothing further is normally required.

With a Certificate of Authentication, you typically continue up a chain. The document may need further certification from the United States Department of State in Washington, and after that legalisation at the destination country’s embassy or consulate in the United States.

Each of those adds fees, mailing time and its own requirements. A process that takes days with an apostille can take weeks without one.

How to find out which you need

Ask the party requesting the document. The consulate, foreign court, university, employer or lawyer receiving it knows what they will accept, and they will often tell you the exact chain.

You can also check the current list of Hague Convention member states published by the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Membership changes, so check rather than assume, and note that some countries joined recently enough that older guidance online is wrong.

One more wrinkle: a country can be a member and still have objections in place regarding specific other countries. If a consulate tells you they want legalisation despite the country being a member, do what the consulate says.

Want this handled for you?

We notarize your document, take it through county clerk certification, file it with the state for apostille, and ship it back. $199, no government offices, no mailing it yourself.

See apostille service

What is identical either way

The document itself has to qualify first, and that part does not change.

New York authenticates public documents issued in New York and signed by a New York State official or a county clerk. A private document, such as a power of attorney or a contract, gets there by being notarized and then certified by the County Clerk of the county where the notary is commissioned. See the full chain for notarized documents.

Vital records follow their own path depending on whether they were issued by New York City or the state. See the birth certificate guide.

The state fee is $10 per document for either certificate, and each document needs its own.

What the certificate looks like

Either one arrives as a separate one page document attached to yours, printed with a blue laser facsimile of the New York Department of State seal and carrying the facsimile signature of the Secretary of State or a deputy.

It is not stamped onto your document and it does not alter it. Do not detach it, and do not staple, unstaple or otherwise disturb the assembly, because a receiving authority can reject a certificate that appears to have been separated.

Verifying one

Apostilles and Certificates of Authentication issued on or after April 9, 2013 can be verified through the Department of State’s online verification tool. For anything issued earlier, or if the record cannot be located, the department can be contacted directly.

That verification tool is useful in both directions. If you have received a document from someone else carrying a New York apostille, you can confirm it was genuinely issued.

Common mistakes

Assuming the destination is a member. Check, because guessing wrong means restarting.

Requesting the wrong one on the form. The request form asks which country the document is going to. Fill that in accurately and the state issues the correct certificate.

Stopping too early on a non Hague document. A Certificate of Authentication alone is frequently not enough. Ask the consulate what comes after.

Leaving no time. Non Hague chains involve at least two more offices, each with their own processing times.

Frequently asked questions

Do they cost the same?

Yes, $10 per document from the state either way. The extra cost on the non Hague route comes from the federal and consular steps that follow.

Can I convert one to the other?

No. You would request the correct certificate for the destination.

Which countries are members?

Well over a hundred, and the list changes. Check the current list or ask the receiving party.

Does either expire?

Neither expires, but a receiving authority may require one issued recently.

Can you handle the consular legalisation too?

Our $199 service covers notarization, county clerk certification, state filing and return shipping. Consular legalisation varies by country and is quoted separately.

Working out whether your destination is a member

The membership list changes, and a country that joined recently will still be described as a non member in older articles and on plenty of notary websites. Two reliable checks: ask the consulate or authority receiving the document, and consult the current list published by the Hague Conference on Private International Law.

There is a further wrinkle worth knowing. A country can be a member and still have an objection in force in relation to specific other states, which means the convention does not operate between that pair. If a consulate tells you they want legalisation despite the country being a member, do what the consulate says rather than arguing the treaty.

What the non Hague chain looks like end to end

Notarization if it is a private document. County Clerk certification, in the county where the notary is commissioned. New York Department of State, which issues the Certificate of Authentication. Then usually the United States Department of State in Washington. Then legalisation at the destination country’s embassy or consulate in the United States.

Five stages, each with its own fee, form and processing time, and each requiring the previous one to be complete and correct. A mistake at stage two is discovered at stage four, which is why the order and the details matter more here than on the apostille route.

Budget time, not just money

The state fee is $10 per document either way. What differs is everything downstream. Consular requirements vary widely, some embassies require appointments weeks out, some require the document translated first, and some require the applicant to appear.

Ask the consulate for their written requirements before you begin, and work backwards from your deadline rather than forwards from today.

Apostille vs Certificate of Authentication: Which Do You Need?