Apostille is a French word that means certification.  When legal or official documents which were issued in the state of Arizona are to be used in a foreign country, it may sometimes be necessary to authenticate the validity of the signatures on those Arizona documents.  "Authentication" is sometimes called "Verification", "Validation" or "Certification".  "Authentication" is also sometimes called an official "Stamp" or an official "Seal".

Government agencies in most countries require legal and official documents from a different country to be authenticated by a credible agency in the foreign country before they will accept any documents as valid.  An Arizona Apostille is a document issued by the Arizona Corporation Commission which is used for international validation.

• An Arizona Apostille is like an international notary stamp.
• An Arizona Apostille attached to a document legally verifies the signature and the position of the official who has executed, issued or certified a copy of any document.
• An Arizona Apostille is a document which bears the signature and, usually, the seal of an official state agency, usually the Secretary of State.
• An Arizona Apostille is attached (usually stapled) to a legal or official document.

An Arizona Apostille does not validate the contents of the document.  An Arizona Apostille validates only the authenticity of the signature of the official who signed the Arizona document, the capacity in which that official acted, and when appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which the document bears.  This is usually an Arizona Notary Public; an Arizona Elected Official; or an Arizona Appointed Official.

Most, but not all, countries recognize an Apostille as a legal document.   In 1961 a number of countries got together and agreed to some conventions for conducting international business.  Representatives of the countries met in The Hague, Netherlands, and the agreements that were signed became known as the Hague Convention of 1961.

Part of the Hague Convention has to do with easing the process of using valid documents from one country in another country.  Prior to 1981 the process of validating foreign documents could be cumbersome, expensive and slow. 

Countries that signed the Hague Convention have agreed to recognize valid documents issued by other signatory countries if those documents are authenticated by the attachment of an internationally recognized form of authentication known as an Apostille. 

The Arizona Apostille ensures that documents issued in Arizona will be recognized as valid in another signatory country.

In addition to the United States, the following countries have signed the Hague Convention and will accept a document with an Arizona Apostille attached.  For countries not listed the Arizona Corporation Commission will issue a Certificate of Authentication which can be affixed to an official or legal Arizona document in the same way in which an Arizona Apostille is affixed to a Arizona document.

If a country does not legally recognize an Apostille for an Arizona document then that country probably will accept a Arizona issued by the Arizona Corporation Commission.  The Arizona Corporation Commission will issue a Arizona in lieu of an Apostille.  In the state of Arizona, the Apostille and Arizona administrative processes are virtually the same.

No.  The Arizona Corporation Commission will not notarize any documents.  Arizona documents which were not issued by an Arizona state agency must be notarized by a registered Arizona Notary Public or certified by the Vital Records department in the Arizona city or county in which the documents were issued.

No.  The Arizona Corporation Commission will not issue an Apostille for a document which was originally issued in a state other than Arizona.  The Arizona Corporation Commission will issue an Apostille only for documents which were issued or originated in the state of Arizona.

No.  The Arizona Corporation Commission will not issue an Apostille for a Arizona document which is in a foreign language other than English.  The Arizona document must be accompanied by a notarized English version of the Arizona document.

No.  The Arizona Corporation Commission will not issue an Apostille for a federal US document.  Federal documents which have been issued by an agency of the US government are authenticated by the US Department of State Authentications Office.

The total cost of an Apostille depends on the number of signatures (not documents) that you want to authenticate and the time by which you want to receive your Apostilled Arizona documents.  When you fill out the order form below, the cost is automatically updated as you specify your options.

We can handle every step of the Arizona Apostille process for any certified or notarized document which was issued in the state of Arizona.

The time it takes to get an Arizona Apostille depends on the nature of the documents that you want Apostilled. We've found that it takes around 2 weeks for the Arizona to complete the Apostille process.

The Arizona Corporation Commission reserves the right to extend expedite periods in time of extreme volume, staff shortage or equipment malfunction.  We are dependent on, and have no control over, the staff and systems of the Arizona Corporation Commission.  In our experience the time specified is the time it usually takes the Arizona Corporation Commission to process Apostille orders.  We get your Arizona Apostille request to the AZ Corporation Commission ASAP.  Once it is at the state we have very little or no control over the Arizona Apostille process.

If you are ready to order an Arizona Apostille online now just fill in the form below and click Place Order.  As soon as we receive your order for an Arizona Apostille we will start processing it ASAP.  We will provide you with a shipping label if you need to send any notarized Arizona documents to us.