Providing certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document
It is an international certification comparable to a notarasation in domestic law, and normally supplements a local notarisation of the document. The apostille itself is a stamp or printed form consisting of 10 numbered standard fields. If the country of intended use does not participate in Hague Convention, documents being sent to that country can be "authenticated" or "certified". Apostilles may only be issued by a competent authority designated by the State in the territory of which the public document has been executed.
