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State of Georgia

Online Application Form

Authentications of Documents Samples of Documents State Seal

The Authentication Office of the Georgia Department of the Secretary of State is responsible for providing authentication services on Georgia documents that will be used in foreign countries.

Documents for countries that are party to the Hague Convention Number 12 receive apostilles. Documents for all other countries receive certifications. The Georgia Authentication Office issues apostilles, authentications and certificates for a variety of  Georgia > documents, including: birth certificates, marriage certificates, statements of marital status, articles of incorporation, corporate bylaws, certificates of merger, powers of attorney, patent applications, trademarks, diplomas, school transcripts, deeds, and assignments of interest.

We provide authentication ( legalization) services to corporations, law firms, U.S. citizens and foreign nationals on all documents that will be used in foreign countries..
obtain Apostilles for documents intended for use in the Hague Convention countries (See HLC-Countries).
obtain foreign certification (State, Federal and Embassy levels) for non Hague Convention countries (See non-HLC-Countries).
Embassy (Consulate) legalization.

To complete the order, please complete and submit our Online Application Form Online Application Form

Types of Certification
 
  • Apostille - An "apostille" is a form of authentication issued to documents for use in countries that participate in the 1961 Hague Convention. A list of countries that accept apostilles is provided by the Hague Conference on International Law and is available here.
 
  • Authentication or Certification - If the country of intended use does not participate in the Hague Convention, documents being sent to that country can be "authenticated" or "certified".

Apostille Certificat

The Apostille Convention facilitates the circulation of public documents executed in one State party to the Convention and to be produced in another State party to the Convention. It does so by replacing the cumbersome and often costly formalities of a full legalization process with the issuance of an Apostille Certificate. (www.hcch.net)

The Convention only applies to public documents. These are documents emanating from an authority or official connected with a court or tribunal of the State (including documents issued by an administrative, constitutional or ecclesiastical court or tribunal, a public prosecutor, a clerk or a process server); administrative documents; notarial acts; and official certificates which are placed on documents signed by persons in their private capacity, such as official certificates recording the registration of a document or the fact that it was in existence on a certain date and official and notarial authentications of signatures. The main examples of public documents for which Apostilles are issued in practice include: birth, marriage and death certificates; extracts from commercial registers and other registers; patents; court rulings; notarial acts and notarial attestations of signatures; academic diplomas issued by public institutions; etc. Apostilles may also be issued for a certified copy of a public document. On the other hand, the Convention neither applies to documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents nor to administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations (e.g., certificates of origin or import or export licenses). (www.hcch.net)

Once an Apostille is obtain, the document may be delivered directly to the country of intended use and bypass further certification from the US Department of State.

The Hague Legalization Convention is in force in the following countries.

  • ALBANIA*
  • AMERICAN SAMOA
  • ANDORRA
  • ANGOLA
  • ANGUILLA
  • ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
  • ARGENTINA
  • ARMENIA
  • ARUBA
  • AUSTRALIA
  • AUSTRIA
  • AZERBAIJAN*
  • BAHAMAS
  • BARBADOS
  • BELARUS
  • BELGIUM
  • BELIZE
  • BERMUDA
  • BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
  • BOTSWANA
  • BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
  • BRUNEI
  • BULGARIA
  • CAYMAN ISLANDS
  • CHINA (Hong Kong SAR)
  • CHINA (Macau SAR)
  • COLOMBIA
  • COMOROS ISLANDS
  • COOK ISLANDA
  • CROATIA
  • CYPRUS
  • CZECH REPUBLIC
  • DENMARK
  • DJIBOUTI
  • DOMINICA
  • ECUADOR
  • EL SALVADOR
  • ESTONIA
  • FALKLAND ISLANDS
  • FIJI
  • FINLAND
  • FRANCE
  • FRENCH POLYNESIA
  • GEORGIA*
  • GERMANY
  • GIBRALTAR
  • GREECE
  • GRENADA
  • GUAM (TERRITORY OF)
  • GUERNSEY
  • HONDURAS
  • HONG KONG SAR (China)
  • HUNGARY
  • ICELAND
  • INDIA*
  • IRELAND
  • ISLE OF MAN
  • ISRAEL
  • ITALY
  • JAPAN
  • JERSEY
  • KAZAKHSTAN
  • KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
  • LATVIA
  • LESOTHO
  • LIBERIA*
  • LIECHTENSTEIN
  • LITHUANIA
  • LUXEMBOURG
  • MACAU SAR (China)
  • MACEDONIA
  • MALAWI
  • MALTA
  • MARSHALL ISLANDS
  • MAURITIUS
  • MEXICO
  • MOLDOVA*
  • MNACO
  • MONTSERRAT
  • MOZAMBIQUE
  • NAMIBIA
  • NETHERLANDS
  • NETHERLANDS ANTILLES (Curacao, Bonaire, St. Martin, St. Eustatius and Saba)
  • NEVIS
  • NEW CALEDONIA
  • NEW ZEALAND
  • NIUE
  • NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS (COMMONWEALTH OF)
  • NORWAY
  • PANAMA
  • POLAND
  • PORTUGAL
  • PUERTO RICO
  • ROMANIA
  • RUSSIAN FEDERATION
  • SAMOA
  • SAN MARINO
  • SERBIA
  • SEYCHELLES
  • SLOVAKIA
  • SLOVENIA
  • SOLOMON ISLANDS
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • SPAIN
  • ST. CHRISTOPHER (Kitts) AND NEVIS
  • ST. GEORGIA AND SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS
  • ST. HELENA
  • ST. KITTS
  • ST. LUCIA
  • ST. PIERRE AND MIQUELON
  • ST. VINCENT
  • ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
  • SURINAME
  • SWAZILAND
  • SWEDEN
  • SWITZERLAND
  • TONGA
  • TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
  • TURKEY
  • TURKS AND CAICOS
  • TUVALU
  • U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
  • UKRAINE*
  • UNITED KINGDOM
  • UNITED STATES
  • VANUATU
  • VENEZUELA
  • VIRGIN ISLANDS, BRITISH
  • WALLIS AND FUTUNA
  • YUGOSLAVIA

"Embassy (Consular) Legalization"
"Chain Authentication"

Documents Issued by Federal Courts: Documents issued under the seal of a federal court should be preliminary authentication by the Justice Management Division. After the seal of the Justice Management Division is on the document, it may be authenticated by the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office. The final step is to obtain the seal of the foreign embassy or consulate in the United States. Usually, foreign embassies or consulates in the U.S. can only authenticate the seal of the U.S. Department of State. Some foreign embassies and consulates maintain sample seals of state authorities.

Documents Issued by Federal Agencies: Documents issued under the seal of a federal agency can be authenticated by the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office. The final step is to obtain the seal of the foreign embassy or consulate in the United States. Usually, foreign embassies or consulates in the U.S. can only authenticate the seal of the U.S. Department of State. Some foreign embassies and consulates maintain sample seals of state authorities.

State Documents: State documents such as documents originating with a state court or agency (birth, death, marriage, etc.) must be authenticated by the appropriate office in the state Secretary of State's office. The document may then be authenticated by the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office. The document may then be authenticated by the foreign embassy or consulate in the United States. Usually, foreign embassies or consulates in the U.S. can only authenticate the seal of the U.S. Department of State. Some foreign embassies and consulates maintain sample seals of state authorities.

Notarized Documents: The procedure for authenticating documents executed before a notary public such as affidavits or acknowledgments varies from state to state. In some states, this requires contacting the clerk of the court of the county where the notary is licensed, and obtaining an authentication of the notary's seal. The state Secretary of State's office can then authenticate the seal of the clerk of the county court (Foreign Certification). After the seal of the state Secretary of State is on the document, it may be authenticated by the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office. The final step is to obtain the seal of the foreign embassy or consulate in the United States. Usually, foreign embassies or consulates in the U.S. can only authenticate the seal of the U.S. Department of State. Some foreign embassies and consulates maintain sample seals of state authorities.

The following countries are not a party to the Convention and need "Embassy (Consular) Legalization" ( "Chain Authentication").

Afghanistan
Algeria
Angola
Australia
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Burma
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Congo (Brazzaville)
Congo (Kinshasa)
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia, The
Ghana

Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Holy See
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Jamaica
Jordan
Kenya
Kiribati
Korea, North
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Lebanon
Libya
Madagascar
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Mauritania
Micronesia
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Nauru
Nepal
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Oman

>Pakistan
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Qatar
Rwanda
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Somalia
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Turkmenistan
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

 




Educational

Besides making sure that your documents will be accepted abroad by obtaining an Apostille or Consular Legalization, we can also play an important role in helping you create, retrieve and translate your documents. Evaluation Education Invitation Letter



Divorce Certificate

Besides making sure that your documents will be accepted abroad by obtaining an Apostille Divorce Certificate Divorce Decree