Apostille is the documentary device by which a government department authenticates a document as genuine, thereby legalizing it for use in another member country under the terms laid out at The Hague Convention of 6 October 1961. Once a document has been Apostilled, thereby providing official government authentication of the signatures and stamps appearing on it, it is automatically deemed legalized for use in another member country. Only the country issuing the document is authorized to stamp the document with the Apostille. For example if the document is issued from Germany, Germany is the issuing country and thus the ONLY country authorized to stamp the document with the Apostille.  

Any official Government document with an original signature/stamp or seal on it can be Apostilled. ONLY PUBLIC documents can be sealed with the Apostille stamp. No document issued by private , non-governmental bodies can bear the Apostille stamp. As a general rule, countries that are party to the Hague Convention require an Apostille.

Documents going to countries that are not party to the Hague Convention generally require an Authentication. These countries include China, Vietnam, most Middle Eastern countries and many others.

IN ALL CASES THE DOCUMENT HAS TO BE APOSTILLED BEFORE TRANSLATED.