Which Countries do and do not regocnise Apostille Certificates?

Apostilled South-African public documents are accepted by all countries participating in the Hague Convention. There are currently over 80 member countries of The Hague Convention recognising Apostille Certificates.  Click on this link to view a list of these participating countries In addition to those countries which are participants in The Hague Convention, there are many non participating countries that will also recognise Apostille Certificates without themselves being members. 

We recommend you check with your principal source to ascertain whether or not an Apostille Certificate is acceptable. If an Apostille Certificate is not recognised by a particular country, authentication and sometimes full embassy or consulate legalisation is necessary which for most countries involves the issue of an Authentication Certificate, certifying the seal or signature appearing on that document. Click on this link to view a list of non participating countries.

Public documents legalised by a country's Embassy or Consulate are restricted in their use to the particular country whose embassy or consulate legalised the documents. They are not transferable.