The world became a smaller place in 1961. In a place called The Hague in the Netherlands, a group of representatives from a variety of countries met to decide how to handle public documents. Not just any public documents, but documents that were to be used in foreign countries. Before this time, any authentication of public documents to be used in other countries had to go through a consulate or an embassy. This group wanted to eliminate that need and provide a way for each government to handle this is a much more streamlined manner. After talking about this for days, the group of representatives came up with a solution. Called the Apostille Treaty, this solution helped to pave a way for documents to be (relatively) easily accepted between nations.
The Apostille Treaty around the world
This treaty has been in use since 1965. It now has over 100 countries signed up to it, including the United States of America. Any document that is needed for international use, such as marriage and business, must have an Apostille attached. The Department of State for each state handles this process. In other countries, this authentication process is handled by the individual government. This has helped bring the world a bit closer together.
Using an Apostille Service
The laws in each country and state can become a bit convoluted. Each state, including Texas, has its own unique way of implementing this process. This leads to hidden and not so hidden issues when dealing with the authentication of public documents. Many third-party services have popped up to help. Apostille services in El Paso will be able to guide a person through the whole process, circumventing many of the issues that might come up.
Moving past the bureaucracy
Getting an Apostille on a document takes time. Although a State’s website might list a certain time period, the reality is often much different. One week can turn in to a month or more, especially if the document is mailed. If a person doesn’t fill out the right forms in the correct way, the whole process can be torpedoed and the documents returned.