Apostille of documents — the process of confirming their authenticity and legalization on the territory of a foreign state. In other words, in order for a document to have legal force in the territory of another state, it must bear a stamp called an apostille. An apostille is placed on documentation only in the country of issue.
The United Mexican States is a party to the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961, which introduced a simplified procedure for the legalization of documents by certifying them with an apostille. Ukraine, Russia, and many other states are also parties to this convention. This means that in order to legalize documents issued in Mexico in these countries, an apostille is required.
Since official documents in Mexico are issued in Spanish, in most cases a sworn translation will be required into the language of the power and country where Mexican documents are required to be legalized. In both Ukraine and Russia, the role of a sworn translation is performed by a notarized copy of the translation.
Accordingly, in order to legalize documents issued in Mexico, on the territory of Ukraine or Russia, they should be apostilled in Mexico, and then translated and notarized in Ukraine or Russia. In this case, both the document and the contents of the apostille are translated.
Both in Ukraine and Russia have the right to accept documents certified bysworn translatorin Mexico, but are not required to do so. For this reason, it is better to translate apostilled documents and have this translation notarized in the state of origin.
The following may be certified with an apostille in Mexico:
- administrative papers
- excerpts from civil status acts
- notarial acts
- educational, medical, qualification, certification documentation, etc.
Customs, diplomatic, consular, commercial documents, passports, military ID cards, driver's licenses, pension cards and other identification documents are not subject to apostille. In this case, the apostille can be placed on a notarized copy or sworn translation. He certifies the translator’s signature and seal, which in turn certifies the translation’s compliance with the original, but not the document itself. A copy with an apostille is most often submitted to the place of criteria along with the original document.
Only originals of state-issued documentation (except for identification documents) are allowed to be apostilled. If the document is not one of these, an apostille is placed on the notarized copy or sworn translation.
Apostille of copies of any documents is allowed in all cases, however, before putting an apostille on a sworn translation of a document that itself can be apostilled, you need to find out which apostille is preferable at the place of request.
Apostille of copies of relevant documents is most often sufficient for:
- employment abroad
- marriage with a foreign citizen
- obtaining a residence permit
- registration of foreign citizenship
- residence in a foreign country
The validity period of the apostille is not limited; it is valid for as long as the apostilled document itself is valid.
In Mexico, the authority to certify documents with an apostille is distributed among various authorities.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs is authorized to apostille documents issued by federal institutions: government bodies, federal educational institutions, private universities, etc.
State governments are authorized to apostille documentation issued by local institutions in the respective territory: birth certificates, divorce records, marriage records, death certificates, police clearance certificates, notarial deeds, and other regional and municipal documentation.
For example, in Cancun, putting an apostille on a birth certificate and some other documentation is allowed at the Government of the State of Quintana Roo (Gobierno del Estado de Quintana Roo), which is located downtown on Avenida Tulum. This amounts to 622 MXN (2023). In some cases you will have to go to the state capital of Chetumal.
You can find out the contacts and opening hours of offices that certify documents with apostille in different states of MexicoHere.
Papers issued by the authorities of the Federal District (DF) are certified with an apostille by the General Directorate of Legal and Legislative Expertise of the Federal District.
Federal documents in Mexico can also be certified with an apostille at the institutions of the so-called «Single Window of Services» (including ordering online). Local documents may only be certified by the state or municipal government in which they were issued.
The document apostille process in Mexico involves verification by an authorized official of the document's authenticity. After completing this process, a special stamp is affixed to the document — apostille.
Apostille is a quadrangular unified stamp, with side dimensions of at least 9 centimeters, containing the mandatory heading «Apostille» and a reference to the 1961 Hague Convention in French (Convention de la Haye du 5 octubre 1961). The contents of the stamp are determined by the Hague Convention. In Mexico, the inscriptions on the apostille — in Spanish.
