November 19, 2024

What is an Apostille?

 An Apostille is an international certification that certifies the validity and authentication of public documents between members’ countries such as South Korea. It also verifies that the document is original and was issued by the legal and appropriate authority in Korea. Republic of Korea authentications are accepted and recognized for use in the United States in compliance with the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Hague Apostille Convention).  Documents that carry a Hague apostille are entitled to recognition in any other convention country without further authentication.  The United States and the Republic of Korea are both parties to this convention.  U.S. federal courts and state authorities should accept documents with the Hague apostille. In order to verify and certify official public and private documents in South Korea, there is a need to legalize these documents by Apostille and/or Notary Public. South Korea is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention since July 14, 2007.

In addition, an Apostille verifies the authority of a Notary Public to notarize documents. It validates the Notary Public signature on the document and also confirm that such Notary Public is registered Notary according to the law in Korea. Almost all the documents officially issued by any agency of the Korean government can be authenticated by Apostille. Those include Birth Certificates and Marriage Certificates.

In Korea, the Apostille itself is a printed form, either on an A4 letter paper or a sticker. On the top is the text APOSTILLE, under which the text is also in French “Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961” (“Hague Convention of 5 October 1961“). This title must be written in French for the Apostille to be valid.

Who Issues Korea Apostilles and How do I Apply?

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Diplomatic Center Building
2nd Floor, Seocho-dong, 202, 2558
Nambusunhwan-ro
Seocho-gu, Seoul, Korea
Telephone: +82-2-2100-8170
Fax: +82-2-2100-7972
E-mail: ddalos@mofa.go.kr
General MoFA Website: https://www.0404.go.kr/dev/main.mofa
MoFA Online e-Apostille Service: https://www.apostille.go.kr/index.do

1) First, apply for the document Apostille at the issuing office/agency/hospital.

2) Then, register with the MoFA Apostille website above, and select the document. Apostille confirmation (issuance) is only available in the MoFA Consular Service in Seoul. Application by mail is also available