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Apostille Country Checker
Find out in one click whether your destination accepts an apostille or needs full embassy legalization, and what that means for time and cost. Covers 197 countries and territories.
Every country, A to Z
131 destinations accept an apostille. 66 require full legalization through their embassy or consulate.
| Destination | What it requires | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Legalization | — |
| Albania | Apostille | — |
| Algeria | Apostille | Party to the Convention since 9 July 2026. Apostille replaces embassy legalization. |
| Andorra | Apostille | — |
| Angola | Legalization | — |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Apostille | — |
| Argentina | Apostille | — |
| Armenia | Apostille | — |
| Australia | Apostille | — |
| Austria | Apostille | — |
| Azerbaijan | Apostille | — |
| Bahamas | Apostille | — |
| Bahrain | Apostille | — |
| Bangladesh | Apostille | Party to the Convention since 30 March 2025. Apostille replaces embassy legalization. |
| Barbados | Apostille | — |
| Belarus | Apostille | — |
| Belgium | Apostille | — |
| Belize | Apostille | — |
| Benin | Legalization | — |
| Bhutan | Legalization | — |
| Bolivia | Apostille | — |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Apostille | — |
| Botswana | Apostille | — |
| Brazil | Apostille | A sworn translation is typically required after the apostille. |
| Brunei | Apostille | — |
| Bulgaria | Apostille | — |
| Burkina Faso | Legalization | — |
| Burundi | Apostille | — |
| Cambodia | Legalization | — |
| Cameroon | Legalization | — |
| Canada | Apostille | Party to the Convention since 11 January 2024. An apostille replaces the old Canadian consulate legalization step. |
| Cape Verde | Apostille | — |
| Central African Republic | Legalization | — |
| Chad | Legalization | — |
| Chile | Apostille | — |
| China (Hong Kong SAR) | Apostille | Accepts apostilles, separately from mainland China. |
| China (Macao SAR) | Apostille | Accepts apostilles, separately from mainland China. |
| China (mainland) | Apostille | Party to the Convention since 7 November 2023, so U.S. documents take an apostille, not consular legalization. A Chinese translation is usually required. |
| Colombia | Apostille | — |
| Comoros | Legalization | — |
| Congo | Legalization | — |
| Cook Islands | Apostille | — |
| Costa Rica | Apostille | — |
| Croatia | Apostille | — |
| Cuba | Legalization | — |
| Cyprus | Apostille | — |
| Czech Republic | Apostille | — |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Legalization | — |
| Denmark | Apostille | — |
| Djibouti | Legalization | — |
| Dominica | Apostille | — |
| Dominican Republic | Apostille | — |
| Ecuador | Apostille | — |
| Egypt | Legalization | Embassy stage required. |
| El Salvador | Apostille | — |
| Equatorial Guinea | Legalization | — |
| Eritrea | Legalization | — |
| Estonia | Apostille | — |
| Eswatini | Apostille | — |
| Ethiopia | Legalization | — |
| Fiji | Apostille | — |
| Finland | Apostille | — |
| France | Apostille | — |
| Gabon | Legalization | — |
| Gambia | Legalization | — |
| Georgia | Apostille | — |
| Germany | Apostille | A certified German translation is commonly required for civil records. |
| Ghana | Legalization | — |
| Greece | Apostille | — |
| Grenada | Apostille | — |
| Guatemala | Apostille | — |
| Guinea | Legalization | — |
| Guinea-Bissau | Legalization | — |
| Guyana | Apostille | — |
| Haiti | Legalization | — |
| Honduras | Apostille | — |
| Hungary | Apostille | — |
| Iceland | Apostille | — |
| India | Apostille | Educational documents are scrutinised closely. |
| Indonesia | Apostille | — |
| Iran | Legalization | — |
| Iraq | Legalization | — |
| Ireland | Apostille | — |
| Israel | Apostille | — |
| Italy | Apostille | Citizenship by descent applications need long-form records and are strict about name spellings matching across generations. |
| Ivory Coast | Legalization | — |
| Jamaica | Apostille | — |
| Japan | Apostille | Generally straightforward, translation sometimes requested. |
| Jordan | Legalization | — |
| Kazakhstan | Apostille | — |
| Kenya | Legalization | — |
| Kiribati | Legalization | — |
| Kosovo | Apostille | — |
| Kuwait | Legalization | — |
| Kyrgyzstan | Apostille | — |
| Laos | Legalization | — |
| Latvia | Apostille | — |
| Lebanon | Legalization | — |
| Lesotho | Apostille | — |
| Liberia | Apostille | — |
| Libya | Legalization | — |
| Liechtenstein | Apostille | — |
| Lithuania | Apostille | — |
| Luxembourg | Apostille | — |
| Madagascar | Legalization | — |
| Malawi | Apostille | — |
| Maldives | Legalization | — |
| Mali | Legalization | — |
| Malta | Apostille | — |
| Marshall Islands | Apostille | — |
| Mauritania | Legalization | — |
| Mauritius | Apostille | — |
| Mexico | Apostille | A certified Spanish translation is usually required, and some offices require a Mexico-registered perito traductor rather than a U.S. certified translator. |
| Micronesia | Legalization | — |
| Moldova | Apostille | — |
| Monaco | Apostille | — |
| Mongolia | Apostille | — |
| Montenegro | Apostille | — |
| Morocco | Apostille | — |
| Mozambique | Legalization | — |
| Myanmar | Legalization | — |
| Namibia | Apostille | — |
| Nauru | Legalization | — |
| Nepal | Legalization | — |
| Netherlands | Apostille | — |
| New Zealand | Apostille | — |
| Nicaragua | Apostille | — |
| Niger | Legalization | — |
| Nigeria | Legalization | Not a party to the Convention. Documents need state or federal authentication, then legalization by the Nigerian embassy or a consulate. |
| Niue | Apostille | — |
| North Korea | Legalization | — |
| North Macedonia | Apostille | — |
| Norway | Apostille | — |
| Oman | Apostille | — |
| Pakistan | Apostille | — |
| Palau | Apostille | — |
| Panama | Apostille | — |
| Papua New Guinea | Legalization | — |
| Paraguay | Apostille | — |
| Peru | Apostille | — |
| Philippines | Apostille | — |
| Poland | Apostille | — |
| Portugal | Apostille | — |
| Qatar | Legalization | Embassy stage required. Allow additional weeks. |
| Romania | Apostille | — |
| Russia | Apostille | — |
| Rwanda | Apostille | — |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Apostille | — |
| Saint Lucia | Apostille | — |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Apostille | — |
| Samoa | Apostille | — |
| San Marino | Apostille | — |
| Saudi Arabia | Apostille | Party to the Convention since 7 December 2022, so an apostille replaces the old embassy legalization. An Arabic translation is often required. |
| Senegal | Apostille | — |
| Serbia | Apostille | — |
| Seychelles | Apostille | — |
| Sierra Leone | Legalization | — |
| Singapore | Apostille | — |
| Slovakia | Apostille | — |
| Slovenia | Apostille | — |
| Solomon Islands | Legalization | — |
| Somalia | Legalization | — |
| South Africa | Apostille | — |
| South Korea | Apostille | FBI background checks are the most common document, and are usually required to be recent. |
| South Sudan | Legalization | — |
| Spain | Apostille | A sworn translation by a recognised translator is normally expected. |
| Sri Lanka | Legalization | — |
| Sudan | Legalization | — |
| Suriname | Apostille | — |
| Sweden | Apostille | — |
| Switzerland | Apostille | — |
| Syria | Legalization | — |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | Apostille | — |
| Tajikistan | Apostille | — |
| Tanzania | Legalization | — |
| Thailand | Legalization | Joins the Convention on 28 February 2027. Until then, legalization through the Thai embassy. |
| Timor-Leste | Legalization | — |
| Togo | Legalization | — |
| Tonga | Apostille | — |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Apostille | — |
| Tunisia | Apostille | — |
| Turkey | Apostille | — |
| Turkmenistan | Legalization | — |
| Tuvalu | Legalization | — |
| Uganda | Legalization | — |
| Ukraine | Apostille | — |
| United Arab Emirates | Legalization | Full legalization chain ending at the UAE embassy. Very common for employment documents, and attested translation is often required. |
| United Kingdom | Apostille | — |
| United States | Apostille | — |
| Uruguay | Apostille | — |
| Uzbekistan | Apostille | — |
| Vanuatu | Apostille | — |
| Venezuela | Apostille | — |
| Vietnam | Apostille | Party to the Convention since 11 September 2026, so an apostille replaces consular legalization. A Vietnamese translation is usually required. |
| Yemen | Legalization | — |
| Zambia | Legalization | — |
| Zimbabwe | Legalization | — |
No destination matches that search. Ask us and we will confirm.
Convention membership changes over time, and individual receiving authorities sometimes lag behind the treaty date. We verify the current requirement for your specific document and destination before submitting anything, so a recent change cannot cost you weeks.
Common questions
What is the Hague Apostille Convention?
An international agreement that lets member countries accept a single certificate, the apostille, instead of a longer chain of authentications. Around two thirds of the world's countries have joined.
What happens if I send an apostille to a non-member country?
It will not be accepted. The apostille is validly issued, it simply has no standing there, so you have to start the legalization chain from the beginning and lose several weeks.
Why does legalization take so much longer?
Because it is three or four sequential processes rather than one, and the final stage sits with an embassy whose queue and requirements are outside anyone else's control.
Does the answer depend on my document type?
The apostille-or-legalization question depends only on the destination country. What your document type changes is whether it needs notarizing first, and whether a translation is required.
My country recently joined the Convention. Which process applies?
Usually the apostille route, but transitional cases are the ones most often rejected, because the receiving authority has not caught up. Tell us the country and the receiving body and we will confirm what they are actually accepting right now.
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Our booking flow checks the destination again automatically and routes your document correctly, so you get an exact price before you pay.
Related: Non-Hague countries · Embassy legalization · Country requirements · Processing times