How to check an apostille

Convention rule

The Convention requires an issuance record

Article 7 requires a register or card index recording specified particulars of apostilles issued. At an interested person's request, the issuing authority checks whether the certificate's particulars match its register.

This is a check on the issuance of that certificate. It is not a second apostille, a fresh investigation of the document's contents, or an additional legalization of the apostille.

• Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — Article 7(1)–(2); PDF page 2
• Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — Article 5(1)–(3); PDF page 2
• Explanatory Report by Yvon Loussouarn — Section B.VI (Article 7); Handbook Annex II §§46–50, printed pp127–128

Notary Geek explanation

Use an official route to the register

Identify the issuing authority on the certificate. Reach its official website through the HCCH designation or another independently confirmed official address. Use the authority's register if provided, and compare the identifying particulars with the certificate you actually hold.

If a QR code takes you to an unfamiliar website, check the address before relying on it or entering information. A plausible-looking result is not enough if it is disconnected from the real issuing authority. If you need help interpreting a result, contact that authority using independently obtained details.

• Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — Article 7(1)–(2); PDF page 2
• HCCH Competent Authorities — Apostille Convention — Country entries and competent-authority designations
• The ABCs of Apostilles — Question 12, printed pp26–27 (PDF page 15)

HCCH guidance

A missing result leaves a question open

An online e-register is not mandatory. Coverage may be limited by date or authority. A missing result calls for direct issuer verification.

• Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Four, §§267–281, printed pp84–86; footnotes 145–149

Notary Geek explanation

A match answers a limited question

A matching entry helps establish that the authority issued an apostille with those particulars. Still compare it with the presented certificate and document: a valid number alone does not resolve a swapped attachment or altered packet.

If the authority reports a mismatch, retain that response and ask about correction or investigation. Avoid declaring fraud solely from a failed web search; equally, do not disregard an unresolved discrepancy because a service provider says the packet is acceptable.

• Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — Article 4(1)–(2); PDF page 2
• Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — Article 7(1)–(2); PDF page 2
• Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Five, §§282–293, printed pp89–90

Choose the next step from the facts

1. If: The official register matches the presented particulars.

   Then: Keep the verification result, then separately check the underlying document and receiving requirements.

   Outcome: verify origin

   • Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — Article 7(1)–(2); PDF page 2
   • Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part One, §§21–28, printed pp31–32; footnotes 21–24

2. If: There is no online register or no conclusive match.

   Then: Request verification directly from the issuing authority. Keep status unresolved until reliable evidence answers the question.

   Outcome: need facts

   • Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — Article 7(1)–(2); PDF page 2
   • Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Four, §§267–281, printed pp84–86; footnotes 145–149

3. If: The authority confirms a discrepancy.

   Then: Ask the authority for the next corrective step; do not describe the certificate as verified.

   Outcome: unresolved discrepancy

   • Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — Article 7(1)–(2); PDF page 2
   • Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Five, §§282–293, printed pp89–90

Notary Geek explanation

An official access link can be part of delivery

HCCH describes both a system that transmits the issued electronic file and a system that keeps it in an authority repository for authorised viewing. Do not assume that every valid electronic route must email a downloadable attachment. Conversely, a link in an email is not by itself proof that an apostille was issued.

Use the issuing authority’s own instructions to establish what the link opens, how the recipient accesses the underlying record and apostille together, and whether any access restriction needs action before the filing deadline. Our practical advice is to keep the issuer’s delivery message and reference alongside the issued file or access instructions. A broken link, access expiry or unavailable repository calls for recovery from the issuer; it does not automatically establish that the certificate itself expired.

• Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Six, §§330–338, printed pp100–102; footnotes 183–198
• Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Four, §§267–281, printed pp84–86; footnotes 145–149

Choose the next step from the facts

1. If: The official repository cannot be accessed using the issued instructions.

   Then: Record the exact access problem and ask the issuer to restore the proper access or explain the replacement route; keep the validity question unresolved.

   Outcome: unresolved discrepancy

   • Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Six, §§330–338, printed pp100–102; footnotes 183–198
   • Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — Article 7(1)–(2); PDF page 2

Notary Geek explanation

A software warning needs a diagnosis

HCCH’s Handbook distinguishes expiry of the signing digital certificate from expiry of the e-Apostille. It explains that a later certificate expiry does not itself end the apostille’s validity if that certificate was valid when the apostille was issued. Long-term signature preservation matters precisely because documents can be used after that date.

A warning such as unknown signer, untrusted certificate or expired certificate does not identify the same defect in every case. Preserve the unmodified issued file and the exact warning. Ask the issuer to explain the signature validation method and confirm the relevant issuance particulars through its official verification route. Do not suppress the warning, re-sign the file yourself or turn an unexplained warning into either a fraud accusation or a clean bill of health.

• Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Six, §§330–338, printed pp100–102; footnotes 183–198
• Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — Article 7(1)–(2); PDF page 2

Notary Geek explanation

Work through a failed register search in a useful order

First identify the actual issuing authority and certificate number/date. Reach its register through an official source, then read the register’s date, authority and document coverage before repeating the search. Check transcription and the requested date format against the certificate. These checks distinguish a query or coverage problem from a mismatch in the issuance record.

If the site is down, the certificate predates its coverage, or the correct entry still cannot be found, ask the issuing authority to compare the particulars with its Article7 register. Supply the exact certificate reference, what failed and the relevant document association through the authority’s prescribed channel. A recipient can make that inquiry directly; paying a verification service is not a treaty prerequisite. A confirmed mismatch remains unresolved until the authority explains it, and is different from an unavailable website.

• Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — Article 7(1)–(2); PDF page 2
• Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Four, §§267–281, printed pp84–86; footnotes 145–149
• Implementation Chart of the e-APP — PDF p1 heading/caveat and footnote1; date/authority coverage notes across pp1–13; pilot-program clarification p13

Choose the next step from the facts

1. If: The correct official register returns different particulars.

   Then: Preserve the discrepancy and ask the issuer to reconcile the certificate, register entry and attached document before relying on the packet.

   Outcome: unresolved discrepancy

   • Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — Article 7(1)–(2); PDF page 2
   • Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Four, §§267–281, printed pp84–86; footnotes 145–149
   • Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Five, §§282–293, printed pp89–90

Notary Geek explanation

Do I have to be the original applicant to verify an apostille?

Article 7 provides for the issuing authority to compare the apostille’s particulars with its register at an interested person’s request. HCCH’s Handbook explains that the requester need not prove the legitimacy of that interest. The person checking a received certificate therefore need not be the person who originally applied for it.

A register can exist without being a public search website. If the authority keeps a non-public register, use its official verification contact or prescribed channel to request the comparison. State the certificate number, date and identifying particulars accurately. Ask for verification of that certificate, rather than asking the office to conduct a broad investigation of the people or allegations in the underlying document.

This limited verification function is different from unrestricted access to the underlying record, a right to browse everybody’s entries, or a right to obtain personal information from a file. Do not treat the absence of a public search screen as the absence of an Article 7 route; equally, do not treat the verification route as a public-records disclosure rule.

• Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — Article 7(1)–(2); PDF page 2
• Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Four, §272 and §§275–281, printed pp85–86; footnotes 147–149
• Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Four, §§267–281, printed pp84–86; footnotes 145–149

Choose the next step from the facts

1. If: The office has no publicly accessible e-register.

   Then: Request the specific register comparison from the issuing competent authority; keep access to the underlying record as a separate question.

   Outcome: verify issuance

   • Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — Article 7(1)–(2); PDF page 2
   • Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Four, §272 and §§275–281, printed pp85–86; footnotes 147–149

Notary Geek explanation

Does the apostille itself need a fresh handwritten signature?

Do not diagnose an apostille solely by whether its signature looks handwritten. The Convention does not prescribe a particular signing method for the apostille. HCCH explains that the law applicable to the issuing competent authority determines the permitted method and signature validity, and describes paper apostilles signed by hand, rubber stamp or printer.

A printed-looking signature is therefore a reason to identify the issuer’s actual method and verify issuance if necessary, not an automatic finding of forgery. Conversely, a convincing wet-ink signature does not resolve a false certificate number or a substituted attachment. Compare the actual certificate with the official register and keep the document association intact.

Keep the level of the question clear. This discussion concerns the apostille issuer’s signature. It does not determine how the underlying private document had to be signed, what notarial procedure was required, or whether an electronic public document can be presented as a paper printout.

• Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Four, §238 table items 7 and 10, printed p79; §§242–243, printed p80; footnote 136
• Conclusions & Recommendations of the 2021 Special Commission on the Apostille Convention — C&R 51, PDF/printed p6; C&R 58, PDF/printed p7
• Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — Article 7(1)–(2); PDF page 2
• Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Four, §§245–251, printed pp80–81; footnotes 138–141

Choose the next step from the facts

1. If: The concern is only the apparent method used to sign the apostille.

   Then: Identify the issuing authority’s lawful method and verify this certificate’s particulars before declaring it invalid.

   Outcome: verify issuance

   • Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Apostille Convention — Part Four, §238 table items 7 and 10, printed p79; §§242–243, printed p80; footnote 136
   • Conclusions & Recommendations of the 2021 Special Commission on the Apostille Convention — C&R 51, PDF/printed p6; C&R 58, PDF/printed p7
   • Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents — Article 7(1)–(2); PDF page 2

What this page cannot settle for your document

• The guide does not verify any individual certificate. Register availability, retained record coverage, file integrity and the authority's response need case-specific evidence.
• How should long-term validation respond to credential revocation, timestamp failure and signature warning types in each issued format?

Continue reading

• How issuance works—and how to read the result
• What an apostille proves—and what it does not
• Recipient requirements and common mistakes
• Existing apostille routing guide
• Notary Geek's notarial routing model

These explanations are available without giving contact details, paying, or requesting a service. If you want help with a document, paid apostille help is optional.