To get an apostille in India you first have the document authenticated by the authority that issued or governs it - the state education department for a degree, the state home or general administration department for a personal record, a chamber of commerce for a commercial paper - and then apply to the Ministry of External Affairs, which affixes the apostille through its branch secretariats, regional passport offices or the online service it runs for eligible applicants. An apostille lets the document be used in a country that is a party to the Apostille Convention without any embassy endorsement on top. If the destination country is not a party, the same document instead goes through consular legalisation at that country's embassy in India.
Before you start
- The original document, not a plain photocopy. Laminated or spiral-bound certificates cause trouble; arrange a duplicate or an attested copy from the board or university where the seal cannot be checked.
- Know the destination. A member state of the Apostille Convention needs an apostille; a non-member needs legalisation by its own embassy or consulate.
- The prior authentication of the document by its issuing authority, described below, done before you approach the MEA.
- Photo identity and, where your name has changed, the linking papers - marriage certificate or name-change affidavit.
- The application fee and, for postal or agent applications, the covering form and a self-addressed envelope.
Steps
- 1. Classify the document. Educational (degree, marksheet, diploma), personal (birth, marriage or death certificate, affidavit, police clearance certificate, power of attorney) or commercial (invoice, agreement, company resolution). The road differs by class, so decide before you line up.
- 2. Get the issuing authority's authentication first. Educational certificates go to the state education department, the university or the board; personal documents to the state home or general administration department or the registrar who issued them; commercial documents to a chamber of commerce or, where the MEA handles that class directly, to the MEA itself.
- 3. Add any intermediate step the class needs. An affidavit or an executed document is ordinarily notarised before it moves up the chain, and a foreign-language paper may need a translation sworn before a notary.
- 4. Apply to the MEA. The apostille is issued through MEA branch secretariats, regional passport offices and, for eligible applicants, the online service with scanned supporting documents. You may apply in person, by post or through a person you authorise.
- 5. Pay the prescribed fee and give a reachable address. For post, enclose the self-addressed envelope; for an agent, give the exact name spellings and the destination country, because the apostille page is matched to the document.
- 6. Collect and check the apostille. It bears the issuing authority's name, the date and place of issue, a serial number, the seal and the signature. Compare its details with the document it sits on before you file it away.
Documents to keep
- The apostilled original and a colour scan of it.
- The prior authentication slip from the state department, board or chamber of commerce.
- The fee receipt and, in postal cases, the tracking number.
- A note of the issuing office and the apostille serial number, because a foreign university or court verifies through exactly that route.
What goes wrong
- Sending a photocopy. The MEA apostilles the original, or a copy an authorised officer has certified as a true copy. A plain photocopy is returned.
- Skipping the prior authentication. Educational and personal documents are commonly rejected for want of the state department's or the board's attestation.
- Name mismatch. If the certificate's name differs from the passport, the link is questioned; carry the marriage certificate or name-change affidavit that bridges the difference.
- The wrong route for the country. An apostille is meaningless in a non-member country; that document needs consular legalisation instead.
- Laminated certificates. Some counters decline them because the embossed seal cannot be examined.
Common questions
Which countries accept an Indian apostille?
The countries that are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention accept it for Indian public documents. A country outside the Convention asks for legalisation by its own embassy or consulate in India, which is a separate and usually slower chain.
What is the difference between an apostille and consular legalisation?
An apostille is one certificate issued by the document's home country and needs no further embassy stamp among member states. Consular legalisation is a chain - the destination country's mission endorses the Indian document, often after an MEA attestation - and applies only to non-member states.
Does the apostille prove the document is true?
No. It certifies the authenticity of the signature, seal or stamp on the public document and the capacity of the person who signed it. It does not certify the contents, and a foreign court or university remains free to verify the underlying record with the issuer.
How does a foreign court or university verify an Indian document?
It writes, quoting the document and the apostille serial number, to the issuing Indian authority or to the MEA. Keep a copy of the apostille and know the issuing office, because that is the path the verification follows back.
Affidavits, declarations and authorities that travel with these documents are drafted by us - see affidavit drafting in Kolkata and the civil litigation formats. Where the document must first be filed here, see civil litigation.
FileX Advocates & Legal Consultants, Kolkata, prepares these documents and handles the office work that follows - the notary, the registrar and the embassy-endorsement queue. Call +91 7439811422 or WhatsApp us and we will tell you what to bring.