Apostille and attestation for documents used in or from India

Treaty

Hague Apostille Convention 1961

Indian authority

Ministry of External Affairs

India joined

2005

Non-members

Embassy legalisation route

Apostille or attestation: which do you need?

Start with two questions: which country issued the document, and in which country will it be used? If both are parties to the Apostille Convention and neither has objected to the other, an apostille from the issuing country is enough. If not, the document goes through legalisation: notary or issuing authority, the foreign ministry, and then the embassy of the country of use.

Membership changes. Canada, for example, joined with effect from January 2024, which made Canadian documents much easier to use in India. We check the current status table of the Hague Conference before advising.

Getting an Indian document apostilled

The MEA does not verify documents itself. It apostilles signatures that have first been verified by the right Indian authority:

• Personal documents (birth, death, marriage certificates, police clearance, affidavits): the Home or General Administration Department of the state that issued them, or the designated regional authority.
• Educational documents: the state education department or the university, and in many cases through the e-Sanad online system for participating institutions.
• Commercial documents (company certificates, invoices, agreements): the relevant chamber of commerce, then MEA.

After verification the MEA, through its branch secretariats and outsourced service centres, affixes the apostille sticker or issues it electronically for some documents. Timelines range from a few working days to several weeks, mostly driven by the state verification step. Only originals or certified copies are apostilled, so plan which copy you want to send abroad.

Clients abroad can courier the original to us with an authority letter. We take it through verification and the MEA and courier it back, with a scan sent before dispatch.

Foreign documents used in India

Indian courts, sub-registrars, banks and revenue offices regularly receive documents signed abroad: powers of attorney, affidavits, consent letters, death certificates, foreign court orders and probates. An apostille from a member country removes the need for Indian embassy attestation. A few things still go wrong:

• The wrong thing is apostilled. An apostille certifies the notary's or official's signature, not the content. A document signed before a notary must be complete and correctly witnessed first.
• Local office preference. Some sub-registrars still ask for consular attestation of a power of attorney for property sales. We find out before you sign.
• Language. Documents not in English or Hindi need a certified translation, which itself may need authentication.
• Stamping. An instrument such as a POA or agreement must still be stamped in India within three months of arrival.

If you live in a non-member country

Many NRIs live in Gulf countries that are not parties to the Convention as of our last review, including the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait. A document signed there for use in India is notarised locally, legalised by the foreign ministry (for example MOFA in the UAE), and then attested by the Indian embassy or consulate. Alternatively, sign directly before the Indian consular officer, which is often quicker. Indian documents going to these countries need MEA attestation followed by the destination country's embassy attestation in India, and often a further step on arrival.

Typical documents our clients legalise

• Marriage certificates for spouse visas, after registration in India.
• Birth certificates, name change gazette notifications and affidavits for passport and OCI applications.
• Degrees and transcripts for employment and professional licensing abroad.
• Powers of attorney, consent affidavits and relinquishment deeds signed abroad for property work in India.
• Death certificates and foreign probates for inheritance claims in India.
• Indian court decrees of divorce and custody orders for recognition abroad.
• Company documents of a foreign parent for incorporating an Indian subsidiary.

Court orders and company documents

Two categories cause more confusion than the rest.

Foreign court orders. An apostille on a foreign divorce decree, custody order or money judgment proves that the copy is genuinely issued by that court. It does not make the order binding or enforceable in India. Whether India recognises a foreign judgment depends on section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and execution depends on section 44A and whether the country is a notified reciprocating territory. Equally, an Indian decree apostilled by the MEA still has to satisfy the rules of the country where you use it. See divorce for NRIs for how this works with matrimonial decrees.

Company documents. A foreign company setting up in India, or a foreign shareholder signing incorporation documents, must have its certificate of incorporation, constitutional documents, board resolution and the signatories' identity and address proofs authenticated in its home country. The Companies (Incorporation) Rules call for notarisation and apostille in Convention countries, or notarisation and Indian consular attestation elsewhere. Documents more than a few months old, or certified copies issued long before signing, are often queried, so we time the authentication close to filing.

Mistakes that cost weeks

• Laminating an original certificate. Laminated documents cannot be verified or stamped, and a fresh certified copy has to be obtained.
• Getting the apostille from the wrong authority. In the United States, for example, a state document is apostilled by the Secretary of State of that state, while a federal document goes to the US Department of State.
• Apostilling before the document is complete. Any later handwritten change, added page or missing signature makes the apostille worthless.
• Assuming a country's status. Membership and objections change. Check the current Hague Conference status before signing, not a blog post from a few years ago.
• Sending the only original. Where possible, obtain an extra certified copy so that one set can be apostilled and the other kept safely.

Many countries allow anyone to check an apostille online in an e-register using the apostille number and date. If an Indian office doubts an apostille, that online confirmation usually settles the question quickly.

Costs and timelines

Government fees for an Indian apostille are modest and charged per document; service centres add their own charges. Foreign apostille fees depend on your country and state. Our professional fee is fixed per document and includes verification, courier inside India and status updates. The overall time is driven by state verification in India, or by your foreign ministry abroad, so we give you a realistic date for each document before you courier anything.

Documents you need

What we need depends on the direction of travel. Typically:

• Original document, or a certified copy issued by the authority
• Copy of your passport and OCI card
• Authority letter allowing us to submit on your behalf
• Name of the country where the document will be used
• Translation, if the document is not in English or Hindi
• For educational documents: mark sheets and degree together
• For company documents: certificate of incorporation and board resolution

How we handle it for you

1. Identify the route

   We confirm apostille or attestation based on the issuing and receiving countries.

2. Check the document

   We review the document for defects before it goes to any authority.

3. Verification

   State, education or chamber verification handled in India.

4. Apostille or attestation

   MEA apostille, or MEA plus embassy attestation for non-member countries.

5. Return dispatch

   Scan sent to you and the original couriered to your address abroad.

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