Apostille Certification
Obtain an Apostille certification of official company documents for foreign use.
What is an Apostille?
An Apostille is an additional authentication/certification required for international acceptance of documents including Articles of Incorporation and Articles of Organization.
The completed Apostille form certifies the authenticity of the signature on the documents. This is usually required when forming a C Corporation or Limited Liability Company (LLC) from a country outside of the United States, an Apostille is required upon every signatory country to accept Apostilles of the other signatory countries.
Apostilles FAQ’s
What business documents may need to be apostilled or authenticated?
Examples of the types of documents that a business may need an apostille certificate or authentication certificate for include:
- Business formation documents (e.g., Articles of Organization, Articles of Incorporation)
- DBA (fictitious name) certificates
- Business governance documents (e.g. corporate bylaws, LLC operating agreements, partnership agreements)
- Certificates of good standing
How does a U.S. company that wants to do business in a foreign country not participating in the Apostille Convention need to authenticate documents?
Although the U.S. is an Apostille Convention member, U.S. companies that will transact business in a non-member country must go through that foreign country’s process of authentication to legalize its U.S. documents. The requirements can vary by country, but the typical steps include notarization, authentication at the state-level, authentication by the U.S. Department of State, and legalization at the foreign country’s embassy or consulate in the United States.
How can I find whether a country is part of the Apostille Convention?
You can find a current list of participating members of the Apostille Convention (formally known as the “Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents”) on the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) website.
What is Form DS-4194?
DS-4194, Request for Authentications Service, is the form used for requesting authentication or apostille certificates under the U.S. Department of State for documents to be used abroad. It has four sections for completion:
- Customer Contact Information
- Shipping Details
- Courier/Representative Contact Information
- Document Information
How long does it take to get an apostille certificate?
It can vary depending on your method of requesting an apostille and whether the issuing agency is experiencing a backlog. According to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, the U.S. Department of State’s typical processing times are:
- Under 2 weeks for requests made by appointment
- 2-3 weeks for walk-in/pick-up requests
- Over 5 weeks for mail-in requests
States’ apostille procedures and processing times can vary.
How can CorpNet assist me?
CorpNet can help you obtain apostille certificates for any documents issued through the Secretary of State (or comparable office) in any U.S. state. And if you require certified copies of any of your state-issued business documents, we can take care of that for you as well.
Filing Apostilles
If you are interested in having CorpNet™ apply for your company’s Apostille on your behalf, we can help by saving you both time and money with a service that is fast, reliable, and affordable in processing the documents required to issue the Apostille. And remember, our services are backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. We make everything easy for you so that you can focus on what you do best – running your business!
