In life, many situations can come up that may require the use of an apostille service in Washington.
If you have never heard about these services before, they refer to documents that may need to be authenticated, in order to be recognized by authorities outside the US.
In this article, we will explain more in depth its uses, as well as describe the process in order to certify your documents through apostille services in Washington, D.C.
Article Contents
What Is An Apostille?
The short definition of an apostille is a certification that verifies the authenticity of a document for international use.
It is recognized in all countries that have signed the Hague Treaty, while in the others, documents will need to be legalized instead. You can do either, through the use of apostille services in Washington.
The apostille is a certificate attached to a document that verifies that it is genuine.
Once it is delivered, it means that the document has gone through the proper channels and that it can be recognized by authorities in other countries.
In other words, the goal of an apostille is to facilitate the legal recognition of documents in countries outside the one where they were issued.
Which Documents Can Be Apostilled?
If we wanted to give a global response, we could say that any documents that may have to be recognized in another country can require an apostille, in order to be considered valid.
However, each country has its own list of documents that require apostilles. It all depends on what is the purpose behind the request.
If someone is looking to get married in another country, the authorities delivering the marriage certificate there, may request a divorce decree from individuals who were previously married, or a single status affidavit.
If a person wants to live in another country, other documents will need to be apostilled as well, such as birth certificates for everyone who will be moving with them, including children.
They may also require a criminal history report, which would also need to be certified. In case the documents are related to a business deal, they may include a certificate of good standing, a certificate of incorporation and/or a certificate of origin for the products entering the country.
What Are The Common Mistakes People Make When Trying To Obtain An Apostille?
It may seem easy to acquire an apostille document, but it can actually be a long and difficult process if you are unsure of what you are doing.
And the problem is that when you need such documents, you often require them rapidly, which doesn’t make the task any easier.
Dealing with governmental offices and/or agencies require an understanding of the procedures. Otherwise, your request may simply be sent back, and you will have to start all over again.
The most common error that individuals make, when trying to get a document apostilled, is sending their paperwork to the wrong office or agency.
Although this will not cause any issues with them, it will create a lot of wasted time. The documents will first have to be received and then returned, which can take a long time when you deal with this type of offices.
The second costly mistake is to forget to add one of the documents that were required by the office/agency, in order to proceed to the production of the apostille.
In such cases, again, the documents may be returned with a letter asking the person to resend the request when complete or it will advise them to send the missing documents. In both cases, lots of days, even possibly weeks, will be loss.
What Are The Benefits Of Using A Professional Apostille Service In Washington?
As we mentioned in the previous point, going through the process of receiving an apostille for a document, can be confusing.
And so, someone may waste a lot of time if he doesn’t know how to go about it. This in itself fully justifies using an apostille service for any document that requires one. However, it is not the only reason why this is the best solution.
Using a professional apostille service can provide assurance that the document will meet the specific requirements of the country where it will be used.
That is because companies that provide these services have worked with all of them before.
Therefore, they won’t make any mistakes that an individual would, thanks to the knowledge that they have acquire throughout the years.
In the end, the required document will be delivered in time and in the right fashion, which will naturally help to avoid any potential issues or delays in the document’s acceptance.
But we can state without a doubt that the main reason why people use an apostille service business is because the process of obtaining it seems too complicated and time-consuming to them.
They would rather call upon experts, in order to ensure that the apostille is obtained efficiently and without any errors or delays.
That is why the expense is considered worth it, simply because they are able to reach their objective more safely, and without risking to find any issues along the way.
Are There Documents That Require Apostille Services Inside The US?
The answer to that question is simply no. Apostille services are used specifically for documents that need to be recognized and accepted in foreign countries.
Those that are intended for use within the borders of the US do not require an apostille.
This being said, it is possible that other processes or certifications may be necessary for specific domestic documents, such as notarization or authentication.
In such cases, relevant authorities or a legal advisor will let you know what you should do.
Although finding the right governmental office or agency for a given document that needs apostille services is not always easy, there is a simple solution to the problem, which is to find an apostille services company to handle the task.
It will save time and help to make sure that the process you have entered with a foreign governmental office is completed the right way, and in due time.
