Apostille on documents in the state of North Carolina
There are several legal regimes for recognizing the validity of American documents intended to operate abroad:

1) consular legalization;

2) apostille;

3) lack of formalities.

Many states decided to abandon the use of non-universal consular legalization in favor of a more understandable, simple and universal procedure for confirming the authenticity of foreign documents, namely, affixing an apostille. (Hague Convention 1961)

Apostille is a special stamp affixed on official documents intended for action abroad, in accordance with the model attached to the Convention.

Not all documents can be apostilled. In accordance with the Hague Convention, apostille can only be affixed to official documents originating from the countries participating in this agreement.

The following documents are considered official:

a) documents emanating from a body or an official subject to the jurisdiction of the state, including documents emanating from the prosecutor's office, a court clerk or a bailiff;

b) administrative documents (documents on education, civil status, certificates, certificates, powers of attorney, etc.);

c) notarial deeds;

d) official marks such as registration marks; visas confirming a specific date; certification of a signature on a document not certified by a notary.

The provisions of the 1961 Hague Convention do not apply to:

a) documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents;

b) administrative documents directly related to a commercial or customs operation.

Currently, more than 80 countries are parties to the 1961 Hague Convention. Including the Convention entered into force between the following states - Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Botswana, Brunei, Great Britain, Hungary, Venezuela, Germany, Honduras, Grenada, Greece, Dominican Republic, Israel, India, Ireland (Rep.), Iceland, Spain, Italy, China (only for special administrative regions: Hong Kong and Macau), Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Colombia, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Monaco, Maurice (island), Namibia, Netherlands, Niue (island), New Zealand, Norway, Cook Islands, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, El Salvador, Samoa, San Vincent and the Grenadines, San Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, Santa Lucia, Swaziland, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Suriname , USA, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, Fiji (islands), Finland, France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, Ecuador, Estonia, South Africa, Japan.

Stages of documents legalization
The procedure for apostillization of documents in the United States is determined by the rules of the state in which you are going to legalize these documents. Documents are apostilled at the office of the Secretary of State or Department of State in which the documents were issued.

The need to affix an apostille is determined by the requirements of the country where you intend to present the legalized document. We will describe the procedure for apostille documents in the state of North Carolina.

To submit documents for affixing an apostille, you must fill out an application, the form of which can be downloaded here: https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/authentications/Apostille_Certificates

Powers of attorney, as well as other similar documents, must first of all be notarized. Documents can be sent by mail to the following address: Authentication Office NC Secretary of State PO Box 29622 Raleigh NC 27626-0622

Apostille is charged $ 10 per document.

If the documents are sent by mail, the apostille process usually takes 4 working days plus the time for postage. Please include a prepaid envelope (USPS, UPS, FedEx or DHL) with a return address to speed up the process.

The apostille is affixed in a free space at the end of the document itself or on a separate sheet, which is attached to the certified document. At the same time, only one apostille is affixed to each individual document.

You can find additional information on the Apostille at the following link https://www.sosnc.gov/divisions/authentications/Apostille_Certificates

We provide services of apostille affixing in the USA in the state of North Carolina. Please contact us at (980) 263-9534 or (347) 536-8644 for highly professional assistance from our lawyer.