Legalization (of a document)

In international law, legalization is the process of certifying a document so that it will be recognized by the legal system of a foreign country. The process is used routinely in international commerce.

The procedure for legalizing a foreign document varies from country to country. The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents has supplanted this procedure with the use of an apostille for countries that are signatories to that convention.

For purposes of document legalization, countries are divided into two groups: those which are signatories to the Hague Convention and those which are not. Signatories of the Convention have agreed that Consular authentication of documents is no longer required and in most cases, execution of the documents by a Notary Republic is sufficient.

Countries which have opted to not participate in the Hague Convention of 1961 typically require that documents be authenticated by the United States Department of State in Washington D.C. as a prerequisite. Once authenticated by the Department of State, the documents then need to be reviewed and approved by the consular staff of the country in which the transaction is to occur. Typically, this process must be completed before an international shipment of goods will be allowed entry into a non-participating country.

Countries which require Document Legalization, include:

Algeria, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Denmark, Dominican, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Stan, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.