Legalisation from the United States of America

Consular legalisation for customers who live and work in the United States of America

DocsBase Apostille & Consular Legalisation Services provides a full range of legalisation services for customers who live and work in the US, and who have documents issued from the US that they require for use elsewhere.

For countries that are members of the Hague Convention only the first layer of legalisation is required, which can be carried out by a Notary, and then the second layer of legalisation by Apostille. The United States of America is a federal republic consisting of 50 states, meaning that the first layer of legalisation by notary needs to be carried out in the state where the document was issued. The Apostille certification then takes place, also in the state where the document was issued. As an example, if a document has been issued in Colorado, it needs to be legalised by a Notary in Colorado and then undergo Apostille certification in Colorado. DocsBase Apostille & Consular Legalisation Services has an office in Washington DC and a vast network of Notaries throughout the United States of America, who we use to obtain the Notary and Apostille legalisation for documents generated in the United States of America.

Once the Apostille certification has been obtained, additional Consular legalisation may be required if the document is intended for use in a country that is not a member of the Hague  Convention. The Consular legalisation is the final legalisation step where the Consular officials verify all other stamps and signatures of your document, authenticating them and confirming that the document is legally valid to be used in their country. When submitted for Consular legalisation, the Consular section may have queries and raise issues about the document – DocsBase Apostille & Consular Legalisation Services has vast experience in dealing with these types of issues and will handle the process seamlessly on your behalf.

Why do documents require Consular legalisation?

Consular legalisation of documents arises from many different needs and situations. The United States of America is the home to many multinational companies that conduct business globally on a daily basis. These business dealings create a requirement not only of legalising corporate business documents but also of legalising vital records, health, and educational documents of employees stationed abroad or traveling abroad.

The reason for Consular legalisation is long, and includes business dealings with oil companies in the Middle East and Africa, trade agreements with China and the Far East, global travel and tourism, construction, infrastructure and engineering in developing countries, and many more. For any doubts regarding what level of legalisation is required, DocsBase Apostille & Consular Legalisation Services are available to guide and advise both individuals and companies and manage the full legalisation process from start to finish.

Consular legalisation of document issued in the United States of America

Once the first layers of legalisation mentioned above have been carried out and your documents have been legalised by Notary and issued with an Apostille certificate in the State from which they originate, they are ready for Consular legalisation. If the destination country has an Embassy in Washington, DocsBase Apostille & Consular Legalisation Services will bring your documents to the Embassy, deal with any queries from the Consular section, and obtain the Consular legalisation on the document. The documents are hand delivered and collected from the Embassy, ensuring that any queries are dealt with immediately and thoroughly.

Embassies in the US may also carry out Consular functions and services for smaller countries that do not have an Embassy in every country. If a document has been issued in Mexico for example, but the country where the document is intended for use does not have an Embassy in Mexico, the document can be sent to the Embassy in the US for Consular legalisation there.  DocsBase Apostille & Consular Legalisation Services are available to manage this process by arranging for the documents to be sent by courier from the country in which they were issued, obtaining the Consular legalisation and promptly returning them.

Please contact DocsBase Apostille & Consular Legalisation Services so that we can answer any questions you may have and provide you with a personalised quotation to suit your requirements. We have extensive knowledge and experience in dealing with all legalisation matters, and provide a consistently high quality service with the purpose of ensuring that our customers’ expectations are always met and often exceeded!