Those applying for Attestation and Apostille services should apply well in advance as Ministry needs some time to verify and process the documents.
Attestation / Apostille
The Ministry of External Affairs attests original documents/true copies of documents for use abroad. Attestation done by the Ministry of External Affairs is of two types
Apostille
India, since 2005, is a member of the Hague Convention of October 5 1961 that abolished the requirement of legalization of foreign public documents. Apostille is acceptable in all member-countries of the Convention (For more info please visit the website: www.hcch.net). Apostille is done for personal documents like birth/death/marriage certificates, Affidavits, Power of Attorney, etc. and educational documents like degree, diploma, matriculation and secondary level certificates etc. As India is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, 1961, no further attestation or legalization of a document apostilled by a member country, should be required for using such apostilled document in India. An apostilled document should, therefore, be treated as legalized document for all purposes in India by all concerned, in accordance with the international obligation under the Convention.
No further requirement of attestation of apostilled documents
86 KBEnclosure: Issuing and Accepting Apostilles
158 KBNormal Attestation
This is done for all the countries which are not a member of Hague Convention and where Apostille is not accepted.
Names of countries that are not members of the Hague Convention are available at the following link
41 KBProcedure for Attestation/Apostille
A. E-sanad: e-Service for verification & attestation of documents of Indian Citizens
Detatils of e-Sanad can be obtained by following thefollowing Link
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B. Attestation/apostille of documents not covered under E-sanad:
Step 1. Authentication of Documents
Applicant Regional Authentication Centres (RACs)
Details of RACs is available at following link
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Step 2. Deposition of Documents with authorized Outsource Service Provider.
Details of Five Outsource Agency center is available at following link
M/s BLS International Services Ltd.
394 KBM/s Superb Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.
395 KB M/s IVS Global Services Private Ltd.
177 KBM/s Alhind Tours & Travels Pvt. Ltd.
152 KBDetails of Jurisdiction of Branch Secretariat/RPos is available at following link
Appendix H
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Step 3. Receipt of apostilled/Attested documents from Outsource agencies.
Important Note
Legalisation of Documents
The Ministry of External Affairs thereafter, legalises the documents on the basis of the signature of the designated signing authorities of the State Government/Union Territory/Chambers of Commerce. Hence it does not take responsibility of the contents of the documents.
Outsourcing of Receipt and Delivery of Documents
As a result to outsourcing of receipt and delivery of documents for attestation/Apostille with effect from July 2012, no document is directly accepted from individuals at the Ministry of External Affairs Counter at CPV Division, Patiala House Annexe, New Delhi. The original document/true copy is to be submitted directly to any of the five outsourced service providers along with a photocopy of the document and a photocopy of the Passport of the applicant. It would be pertinent to point out that the Ministry does not legalize photocopies. Applicants are advised not to rely on unauthorised persons/touts for Apostille or Attestation services.
Decentralization of Attestation/ Apostille Services
W.e.f. January 01 2019, Attestation/Apostille services have been decentralized to Branch Secretariats/RPOs in 16 cities Ahemdabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Chandigarh, Cochin, New Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Panaji, Jaipur, Patna and Thiruvanantapuram. The contact details of these RPOs and the collection centres of the five service providers in these 16 cities are as given above.NORKA ROOTS, a public sector company under the Department of Non-Resident Keralite Affairs, Government of Kerala is authorized to submit documents for Attestation/Apostille by RPO, Thiruvanantapuram.
Applicants are requested to approach their respective Branch Secretariats/RPOs as enumerated above through the five outsourced service providers for obtaining the requisite services of apostille/attestation as required.
Fees for Apostille and Normal Attestation
MEA: A fee of Rs 50 is payable for Apostille of document. (W.e.f 21 December 2016, payment by means of postal orders has been discontinued.) Normal Attestation is done free of cost.
Outsourced Agencies
As the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is not accepting documents directly from the applicant/individual, all documents for the purpose of Attestation/Apostille by MEA are to be submitted and collected from the four designated outsourced agencies. The fee chargeable is as follows
| Type of Service | MEA Fee | Outsource Agency Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Charge | Scanning Charge | ||
| Apostille | Rs 50 per apostille sticker | Rs 84 per document | Rs. 3 per page |
| Attestation | Free of Cost | Rs 84 per document | Rs. 3 per page |
For more information, suggestions or any grievance please contact