A Guide to Commercial Document Apostille Process in India
Businesses, individuals exporting goods abroad or those who set up business abroad need to validate their commercial documents abroad. Commercial document apostille is an unavoidable part of legalizing your business/ commercial documents in a Hague apostille country. Since India is a member of Hague apostille convention, a commercial document issued in India needs to get an apostille to authenticate it in any other Hague country.
4 Simple steps to get MEA Apostille on your Documents
- Register on Apostille Portal
- Collect all Documents you want to Apostille
- Submit the Original / Photocopies of documents
- Receive Documents with Apostille Directly to your home
What is an apostille?
An apostille is a certification/stamp pasted on a document issued in a country to legalize its use in a Hague convention Apostille Country. Until the convention on apostille, the legalization of any foreign public document required an embassy or consulate attestation. Apostille has reduced the steps and made the legalization process easier.
See the list of Hague Apostille Countries to know if your destination country accepts an apostille.
Why Do You Need a Commercial Document Apostille
An apostille for commercial documents are required for the following purposes:
- To export goods and services
- In order to expand your business to foreign countries
- To open a corporate bank account abroad
- Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) Approvals
- International trade agreements
Type of Commercial Documents that Need an Apostille
MEA India provides apostille attestation to various business related or commercial documents including:
- Export related documents such as invoices, packing lists and bills of lading.
- Company incorporation documents such as board resolution apostille, certificate of incorporation apostille, memorandum of association apostille, and Articles of association.
- power of attorney apostille to appoint someone in a foreign country to act on your behalf.
- Business agreements and Contracts
- Trade licenses and registration
- ISO Certificates
- Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certificate
- Bank documents related to international business transactions.
Process of Getting a Commercial Document Apostille
Following are the step by step process to get an apostille for a commercial/business document in India:
- Notary(mandatory only for affidavits)
- Chamber of commerce attestation
- MEA Verification
- MEA Apostille Stamping
Notary Attestation
Some commercial documents may need attestation from a public notary. This is usually applicable to affidavits and power of attorney. However, other commonly used commercial documents such as invoices do not require a notary attestation.
Chamber of Commerce Attestation
Before reaching the MEA, a commercial document must be attested by the chamber of commerce where the business was registered. Sometimes, it is possible to attest from other chambers of commerce as per the requirements.
MEA Verification/Attestation
The Ministry of external affairs in India is the only authority who can issue an apostille stamp on your documents. In this step, MEA will conduct a final verification on your documents and signature/seal on it. Finally, a verifiable apostille stamp/certificate is pasted on the document to authenticate your commercial document in any other Hague country.
Cost of Commercial Document Apostille
The cost of getting a commercial document apostille may vary depending on various factors such as:
- Number of commercial documents that need to be apostilled
- Type of document (Since some documents may need additional verification)
- Processing speed; faster processing will be costlier than normal processing.
- Location of chamber of commerce. The fees for attestation each chamber of commerce charges may vary.
- Apostille service provider charge.
- Government fees.
- If additional services such as notarization, embassy attestation or translation are required, charges will be higher.
Timeframe to Get an Apostille for Commercial Documents
The time taken to get an apostille for your business/commercial document is usually as mentioned below:
- Chamber of commerce attestation- 2 to 3 working days
- MEA Apostille – 3 to 4 working days
- Total time- 5 to 7 working days.
Documents Required to Apply for a Commercial Document Apostille
Following are the documents required to get an apostille for your business related or commercial documents:
- Original commercial document that require an apostille
- Company’s PAN card copy
- Authorization letter to your apostille service provider.
Commercial Document Apostille- Translation Requirements
MEA apostille on your commercial documents will be in English. However, some countries where English is not the official language may require you to translate your commercial documents into their language. You need to check with the authorities from your business destination to know more about the translation requirements.
Looking for a commercial document and apostille translation? Fill the Translation order form.
Details on a Commercial Document Apostille
An apostille on your commercial document is a certificate with an identification number and details on it. Following are the details included in an apostille:
- The country issuing the apostille (India)
- Type of document specifications
- Name of the official who signed the document
- Position/Designation of the official who signed the document
- The authority which affixed the stamp on the document
- Location where apostille is issued. In India, apostille is issued only in New Delhi.
- Date of Issuance of apostille
- The authority issuing the apostille(Ministry of External Affairs)
- Official Stamp/seal of MEA
- Unique Identification number of apostille
- Signature of the official issuing apostille
Apostille attestation for commercial documents are necessary to legalize your commercial documents in any Hague country. Attestation and apostille will authenticate your documents as legit which will fasten your business transaction. Finding a Trustworthy apostille service provider will save your time and energy.
Register for Online MEA Apostille
Provide applicant details
Frequently asked questions
A commercial document apostille is required when you want to expand your business abroad or export to another country. To legalize the use of your commercial documents in other Hague countries, you need to get an apostille from MEA India.
No. Notary attestation is not a mandatory step in getting an apostille for your business or commercial documents. However, affidavits and power of attorney may require a mandatory notarization.
Usually, chamber of commerce attestation should be done from the location where your company is located. However, most of the commercial documents can be attested from Delhi chamber of commerce. Countries such as Taiwan mandates COC attestation from the location of the company itself.
Most of the countries request for an apostille not older than six months. Thus your apostille for commercial documents should not be older than six months.