Hague Convention
The Hague Convention, more specifically the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, is an international treaty established in 1961. It created the apostille system to simplify the process of authenticating public documents for use in foreign countries. The Convention allows documents apostilled in one member country to be recognised as authentic in all other member countries without requiring further certification by embassies or consulates.
The Convention designates competent authorities in each member country to issue apostilles. In the UK, the FCDO Legalisation Office is the designated competent authority. Member countries agree to accept apostilles from other members as sufficient proof of document authenticity, eliminating the need for lengthy chain certification processes that previously required authentication by multiple government departments and foreign embassies.
The Hague Convention only applies between its 126+ member countries. Documents destined for non-member countries require traditional legalisation through embassy attestation in addition to the paper apostille certification. The Convention covers both paper and electronic apostilles, with member countries obligated to accept e-Apostilles as legally equivalent to traditional paper apostilles.
Member Countries
Over 126 countries have joined the Hague Convention, including most of Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific nations, and increasingly African countries.
Non-Member Countries
Countries outside the Convention like the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Vietnam require embassy legalisation in addition to the paper apostille for UK document legalisation.
E-Apostille Recognition
The Convention explicitly recognises electronic apostilles as legally valid, requiring all member countries to accept them alongside traditional paper apostilles.