We at Murthy Immigration Services are often contacted by person(s), who need authentication of certain documents issued by an court or authorizy in the U.S. For example, US court record, divorce decree, birth certificate, death certificate, etc. This article is to provide a brief information on the procedure to obtain this.
Need for Document to be Apostilled for Use in India
Documents issued in the U.S. (or other countries which are party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization of Foreign Public Documents) need to be authenticated / validated for official use in India. This process is know as “Apostille”.
Notary Service at U.S. Consulate(s) / Embassy Different From Apostile Services
“Apostille” must not be confused with the “Notary” service provided at the U.S. Consulate(s) Embassy in India. Apostille needs to be provided by relevant authority that originally issued the document. The notary services offered by the U.S. Consulate(s) / Embassy are for limited purposes. They generally do not attest a document as “true copy” for use before an Indian Authority, this facility is intended for use of documents in the U.S. Details as to where one can obtain the document “apostilled” for each State in the United States can be found by visiting here.
Third Party Services Available For Certain Documents Including Obtaining Court Documents
Third Party organizations do assist in obtaining a copy of the relevant documents from the U.S. and have the same “apostilled” by appropriate authorities. They then mail these documents to India. To utilize this service, one must know exact details as to where, when and who issued the original document. It is important to exercise caution while sharing confidential and sensitive information to a third-party organization to avoid misuse of data or possible identity theft.It was further confirmed by the VFS official that prior appointment is not required at this time for submission of documents. However, we expect this to change once more applicants are aware of this procedure.
Apostile for use of Documents Issued by Indian Authorities in the U.S.
Similar to the process described above, documents issued by Indian authorities will have to be apostilled for use in the United States. These documents need to be first attested by the issuing authority in India. Following this, one will have to visit the attestation office of the Ministry of Extenal Affiars (Consular Passport Visa Division) located at the address given below between 9:30 a.m. and 12 noon (Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays). Apostilled documents may be collected obetween 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Attestations Office
Ministry of External Affairs (CPV Division)
Patiala House, Tilak Marg (near India Gate)
New Delhi – 110 001
Tel. +91-11-2338-7931
In some instances, it may be required to have this document authenticated at one of the U.S. Consulate(s) or Embassy. More information is available on the U.S. Consular website which can be found here.
Conclusion
While trying to use a document issued by an authority in the U.S., in India, it is important not to confuse “Notary” services offered at the U.S. Consulate(s) / Embassy with having the document “Apostilled”. We trust this article would give you the basic difference between these services and an insight to the procedure to obtain “Apostile” for U.S. documents to be used in India and the vice-versa.
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