Frequently Asked Questions on Attestation and Apostille
Attestation verifies your document's signature and seal for use abroad. For Hague Convention countries an MEA apostille is enough, and for others the MEA attestation is followed by the embassy's. These answers cover the questions we hear most.
Last reviewed: . Rules, fees and Convention status change, so we re-check procedural pages regularly. We are a private facilitator, not the MEA, a state department or an embassy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Attestation is the official verification of a document's signature and seal so that authorities abroad accept it. In India it is done by state departments and the Ministry of External Affairs, and for some countries by the embassy as well.
An apostille is a single MEA certificate accepted by Hague Apostille Convention countries. Attestation, meaning MEA attestation plus embassy attestation, is used for countries outside the Convention.
Use our Hague country checker. Members of the Convention need an apostille, and non-members such as the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar need MEA attestation plus embassy attestation.
Educational documents go to the State HRD or Higher Education Department, personal documents to the State Home Department or SDM, and commercial documents to the Chamber of Commerce, before the MEA.
The MEA says it does not accept documents directly from individuals at its counter. Submissions go through designated outsourced agencies, or through eSanad where eligible.
It depends on the document, the state department and the embassy. We give an estimate after reviewing your documents, because published averages can mislead.
Authorities need to stamp the paper itself, so lamination usually has to be removed carefully first. We assess each document before handling it.
Usually the original or a notarized copy is required, depending on the step. We tell you which form each authority accepts.
Yes. Many applicants use a representative or facilitator. Some steps and embassies have authorisation rules, and we explain them for your case.
We identify the reason, such as a name mismatch or missing step, and advise on the correction. Authority rejections are outside anyone's control, so we check documents before submission to reduce the risk.
No. We are a private document facilitation company. We are not the MEA, any state department or any embassy.
We share status updates at each stage and a courier tracking number on dispatch. Contact us with your reference for the latest status.
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