Under The Hague Apostille Convention of 1961, a treaty of 100 nations including the United States, apostilles may be issued only by a competent specialist authorized to issue an apostille,such as the Secretary of State’s office. 

How to get an apostille?

To apostille a document, the country where it will be presented must be part of the Hague Convention. If the country of destination is not part of the Convention, the process used is the Legalization. If you want to apostille a document you have two options, you can apostille by yourself a document by going to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of your country, or hire the service of a notary to do it for you. If you want to save time or the process seems difficult, you can always hire the services of a notary, they will help you to get the job done for a fee. 

The documents to be apostilled must be original, with the signature of the competent authority previously registered in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A document that has been apostilled does not require further procedures or legalization to be valid in any of the countries parties to the Hague Convention.

If the country to which the document is to be submitted requires it, the translation must be necessary.

What Do I Need To Get An Apostille?

The office of the Secretary of State requires the following if one’s document is to be apostilled:

• The original notarized copy of the document to be apostilled.
• A standard fixed fee ( depends on each country ) 
• Already filled Certificate of Authentication Request Form. The form typically includes information such as your contact details (including your mobile phone number) and your mail information for the document to be sent after processing. You would have to include the name of the country requesting the documents as each one has different requirements.