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Authentication of U.S. Documents for Use in India
This page provides information on how to authenticate a U.S. document for use in India. This is a two-step process:
1. Obtain an "apostille" from the state that issued your document in the United States.
2. Have the document + apostille attested by the MEA-CPV Attestations office.
Obtaining an Apostille
Documents issued in one country that need to be used in another country must be "authenticated" or "legalized" before they can be recognized as valid in the foreign country. This is a process in which various seals are placed on the document. Examples of such documents are court documents, birth, death and marriages records, educational documents, incorporation papers and other legal papers. Recently, India became a party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents ("Hague Legalization Convention"). Pursuant to the Hague Legalization Convention, Indian documents can be authenticated/legalized for use overseas by the issuance of an "apostille." (For more information on this subject, please see http://travel.state.gov/law/info/judicial/judicial_2545.html.)
In the United States, each state issues apostilles for its own documents. Thus, for an example, a California birth certificate must be authenticated with a California apostille. Similarly, a New York death certificate must be authenticated by an apostille issued by the state of New York. Each state maintains a website explaining how to obtain an apostille. For a list of the state authentication authorities in the United States that can issue an apostille, please see http://travel.state.gov/law/legal/treaty/treaty_783.html#states. The Embassy's American Citizen Services Unit also has information on the state authentication offices.
Attesting the Document & Apostille
To ensure that your document and apostille are accepted by all government entities in India, the U.S.-issued apostille should be attested by presenting the documents in person at the following office:
Attestations Office
Ministry of External Affairs (CPV Division)
Patiala House, Tilak Marg (near India Gate)
New Delhi - 110 001
Tel. +91-11-2338-7931
The office's hours for dropping off documents are 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (excluding Indian public holidays). Documents generally are ready for pick-up within two hours.
