If the principals are out of the country and going to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate is inconvenient, there are other options. The settlement agent must determine if the country where the principal is located is a member of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents established in 5 October 1961.

Documents issued in a convention country which have been certified by a convention certificate called an Apostille, are entitled to recognition in any other convention country without any further authentication.

The list of countries which are a member of this particular convention can be found at https://www.hcch.net/en/states/hcch-members . The list of member countries appears alphabetically. Select the country where the principal is located and verify the country is a member of the convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents to qualify.

If the country is a member, the principals can go to any duly appointed notary in the country and the notary will attach an Apostille to each document requiring notarization. The Apostille is not a document created or provided by the settlement agent, instead it must be provided by the person acting as the notary public.

The Apostille must contain certain information and be of a certain format, therefore settlement agents should not attempt to prepare or provide one as errors may render the document unacceptable for recording or insuring.

If a country is not listed on this site, it is not a member of the Hague Convention and other steps must be taken to have the documents notarized, which will be discussed in next month's edition.