U.S. APOSTILLE

The Embassy cannot offer any apostille services.  An apostille is a certificate which verifies and confirms the seal and signature of the person who authenticated the document.  An apostille is issued by a designated authority in a country where a treaty called the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization of Foreign Public Documents applies. Countries that are party to the treaty recognize the apostilles from all other member countries.  The United States is a party to the treaty, and the Republic of Korea became party to it in 2007.  Therefore, a document notarized by a U.S. notary with an apostille attached must be recognized by Korean government bodies.  Conversely, a document notarized by a Korean notary with an apostille attached must be recognized by U.S. government bodies.

There are several steps required to obtain an apostille on a U.S. document. 

• Documents issued by federal agencies must receive a seal from that agency, and then an apostille from the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications. 
• Apostilles for U.S. federal court documents can be obtained from the clerk or deputy clerk of the circuit or district court. 
• Documents issued by state or local courts or agencies, civil records (death, birth, and marriage), and documents signed before a notary public in a U.S. state, territory, or possession or the District of Columbia must obtain an apostille from the appropriate state or local authority.  A list of these authorities can be found on the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) website.

U.S. embassies and consulates cannot authenticate diplomas or other documents from universities and other schools in the United States or provide notarial services related to such credentials.

For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of State’s website on Authentication of American Academic Credentials for Use Abroad.

PROVISO: Effective January 1, 1983, the U.S. Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad ceased to authenticate or provide certified true copies of academic credentials, transcripts or degrees. The U.S. Department of Education determined at that time that such documents are not required in the United States for persons who studied abroad who wish to attend primary or secondary school, or college/university in the United States. This was announced in a joint release by the U.S. Departments of State and Education published in the NAFSA newsletter of December/January 1983. The U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security also determined that authentication of foreign academic credentials generally is not/not required for U.S. immigration purposes. In an effort to be of assistance to persons who wish to present academic credentials from the United States for use abroad, the following step-by-step guidance is provided.

Updated: November 7, 2011