question
hague conference on private international law | conférence de la haye de droit international privé
7
www.hcch.net > Apostille Section
6
In which
countries does
the Apostille
Convention apply?
www.hcch.net > Apostille Section
question 2
The Apostille Convention only applies if both the
country where the public document was issued and
the country where the public document is to be used
are parties to the Convention. A comprehensive and
updated list of the countries where the Apostille
Convention applies, or will soon apply, is available in
the Apostille Section of the Hague Conference website
– look for the link entitled Status table of the Apostille
Convention.
The Status table of the Apostille Convention has two
parts: the first part lists countries that have joined the
Apostille Convention and are also Members of the Hague
Conference (i.e., the Organisation that developed the
Convention); the second part lists countries that have
joined the Apostille Convention but are not Members of the
Hague Conference. In other words, a country does not
need to be a Member of the Hague Conference to be
party to the Apostille Convention.
When checking the Status table of the Apostille
Convention, always keep the following in mind:
1 Check if both the country where the public
document was issued and the country where the
document is to be used are listed in either part of the
Status table.
2 It does not matter whether a country appears in the
first or the second part of the Status table – the
Convention applies equally to Members and non-
Members of the Organisation.
3 Check the date of entry into force of the Convention
for both countries. Look for the column entitled ‘EIF’
– only after that date can the relevant country issue
and receive Apostilles.
4 There are different ways for a country to become a
party to the Convention (ratification, accession, succession
or continuation), but these differences have no impact on
how the Convention operates in a country.
5 If one of the countries has acceded to the
Convention, check that the other country has not objected
to that accession; to find out, see the column entitled
‘Type’ next to the acceding country’s name and check if
there is a link entitled ‘A**’ – if so, click on it and check
whether the other country is listed.
6 Check whether the Convention applies to the entire
territory of a country or only to parts of it; to find out,
see if there is a link in the columns entitled ‘Ext’ and
‘Res/D/N’ – if so, click on it and read the relevant
information.
hague conference on private international law | conférence de la haye de droit international privé
Û
Do not confuse the
Status table of the Apostille
Convention with other lists
of countries on the Hague
Conference website, such
as the list of Members of
the Hague Conference on
Private International Law or
status tables of other Hague
Conventions. A country may
be party to one or several
of the many other Hague
Conventions but not to the
Apostille Convention, or a
country may be party to the
Apostille Convention without
being party to any other Hague
Conventions.
Question 2 In which countries does the Apostille Convention apply?