Apostille: If your document is used in
countries that are members of the Hague Convention, you need an
Apostille.
Apostille and Legalizations: At
Tramites Consulares we offer immediate Apostille and Legalization
services for documents inside and outside the United States for
international use.
We efficiently assist you in the process of obtaining apostilles in
any state of the American Union, to be effective abroad, within the
member countries of the Hague Convention.
Our goal is to assist you in the legalization process of any
document that needs to be recognized internationally. How? By
identifying the requirements of the country in which your documents
need to be recognized.
In the case of countries that are not part of the Hague Convention,
these legalization processes at the consulates can be long and
complicated. Based on our experience we can complete all
requirements shortly and efficiently.
Just contact us and we will be pleased to assist you in your
corresponding processes.
Documents that often require to be legalized with "Apostille" or
through the "Regular Certificates" required by the Consulates, for
countries that are not members of the Hague Convention:
- Birth Certificates
- Marriage Certificates
- Death Certificates
- Divorce Decrees
- University Degrees
- Academic Records
- Letters of Unmarriage
- Travel Permits
- General or Special Powers of Attorney
- Contracts
- Bids to be submitted in bidding processes
- Letters of Commercial Representation
- Affidavits
Tramites Consulares will provide you with your "Apostille" or
"Regular Certificate of the Secretary of State" within 24 hours,
only and exclusively for public documents originated by authorities
of the State of Texas. For Apostilles originating in other states of
the union the delivery time may vary. Contact us and we will gladly
assist you.
Hague Convention: The purpose of this
convention is to abolish the requirement of Diplomatic or Consular
Legalization of foreign public documents.
This international treaty abolished the requirement for public
documents originating in one of the countries belonging to the
Convention to be used in another member country of the Convention.
Documents issued by a Convention country, which have been certified
by an Apostille of the Convention, have the right of recognition in
any other Convention country without any further authentication.
Such recognition is an obligation on the part of all Convention
countries, and Federal Courts and State Authorities have been
instructed of this obligation. Consular officials and Convention
countries are prohibited from placing a certification on the
Apostille of the Convention.
Apostilles: The “Apostille” is a
certification issued by designated authorities in the member
countries of the "Hague Convention"
What does it consist of? The Apostille
consists of certifying that the signature and seal of a public
document has been affixed by a competent authority. This procedure,
like authentication (legalization), only certifies that the
signature or seal shown on the document was issued by a public
official in the exercise of his or her functions, but does not
certify the validity of the content of the document.
Content of the "Apostille" Certificate:
Article 7 of the Hague Convention provides for the use of the
standardized authentication certificate called "Apostille".
Physically it consists of a certificate that is added to the
documents that the competent authority stamps on a public document
and consists of the following:
- Name of the country from which the document originates.
- Name of the person signing the document.
- The capacity in which the person signing the document is acting.
- In case of unsigned documents, the name of the authority which
has affixed the seal or stamp.
- Place of certification.
- Date of certification.
- The authority issuing the certificate.
- A number of the certificates.
- Seal or stamp of the authority issuing the certificate.
- Signature of the authority issuing the certificate.
What are Public Documents?
For the purposes of this Convention, public documents
include:
Documents issued by an authority or by an official connected with
the courts or tribunals of the State, including those issued by a
public prosecutor, clerk of court or administrative employee.
Administrative Documents: Official
Certificates are placed on documents signed by persons in their
private capacity, such as official certificates stating the record
of a document or the fact that it existed on a certain date, and
Official and Notarial authentications of signatures.
Procedure: Because the authorities
designated by the United States to affix the Apostille can only
attest to the validity of certain stamps, it may be necessary for
you to obtain other intermediate stamps on your document, depending
on the origin of the document, before the Apostille can be affixed.
There is no unique competent authority in the United States that
issues the Convention Apostille. There are different authorities for
documents originating in state and local jurisdictions, Federal
courts, and Federal government agencies.
Contact the local competent authority who will affix the
certification (Apostille) to your document. If it is necessary for
you to obtain some other intermediate seal on your document, before
obtaining the Apostille of the Convention, consult with the State or
Federal authority registered. We at Tramites Consulares can guide
you through this process and/or arrange such certification for you.
Exceptions: However, the Convention
does not apply to documents issued by:
Diplomatic or Consular Officers or Administrative Documents that
refer directly to customs or mercantile transactions.
For example Certificates of analysis, free sale (issued by the
Department of Health), quality, human consumption,
original-for-export, purity, radioactive, and animal health (issued
by the United States Department of Agriculture).
Members of the Hague Convention
There are currently 92 members of the Hague Convention.
Venezuela and the Hague Convention: Venezuela ratified its
participation as a member country of the Hague Convention as stated
in Official Gazette No. 36.446 dated May 5, 1998.