Do apostilles expire?

Apostille expiration: what the Hague Convention says

No. The Hague Apostille Convention of 5 October 1961 gives the apostille no expiry date. The HCCH, the intergovernmental organization that monitors the Convention, says a validly issued apostille has effect as long as it can be identified and stays attached to its document, and that it may not be rejected solely on the basis of its age.

The same passage of the HCCH's Apostille Handbook adds the second half of the rule. The Convention does not stop authorities in the country of destination from setting time limits on the acceptance of the underlying document, under their own law or policy. The certificate is permanent. The paper it certifies can still be judged by its date.

You can see the logic on the certificate itself. Every apostille carries the same 10 numbered fields: the country, who signed the document, in what capacity, whose seal it bears, where and when the apostille was issued, by which authority, its number, and the authority's seal and signature. Field 6 is the date of issue. None of the ten is an expiry date, because the apostille confirms a fact that never changes: that a particular official really signed your document.

That also explains what an apostille does not do. It does not confirm what the document says, it does not translate it, and it does not make an old document current. An old birth certificate with a brand-new apostille is still an old birth certificate. For the full picture of what the certificate covers, see what an apostille is, or the HCCH's own Apostille Section.

The rule is the same for paper and electronic apostilles, for state and federal ones, and for apostilles issued by every other Convention country.

Why an office may still want a recent document

Because the facts behind many documents can change after they are issued. A criminal record, a marital status or a company's standing may have changed, and a vital record can be amended. Offices abroad protect their decisions by asking for a recently issued copy, and the Convention allows it, as long as the rule targets the document, not the apostille.

The reasons vary by document, but they fall into four groups:

• The facts can change. An FBI background check shows your record on the day it was run. A single status affidavit describes your marital status on the day you signed it. A certificate of good standing shows the company's status on the day it was issued. An office deciding a visa, a marriage or a bank account wants to know the situation now.
• The record can be amended. Vital records can be corrected or amended, for example after an adoption, a court order or a legal name change. A newly issued certified copy shows the record as it stands today. An older copy may not.
• Old signatures are harder to check. The HCCH notes that it can be difficult to verify the origin of an old document. A registrar who signed a certified copy long ago may no longer be on file with the state apostille office, which is one reason a newly issued copy often goes through more smoothly.
• Local law or policy says so. Many consulates, civil registries, courts and immigration agencies follow written rules about document age, set under their own law. Some publish them in a checklist. Others apply an internal instruction that the official at the counter follows.

Nothing on this list involves the apostille. That is why a new apostille on an old document rarely solves a recency problem, and why every new document needs its own apostille.

What "recent" means in practice

In practice, a recent document is one issued for this application: a certified copy ordered after your appointment was booked, an FBI check requested once your filing date is set, a certificate of good standing requested when the bank asks for it. The exact window is always the receiving office's decision, so read its checklist or ask.

Three details decide whether your document counts as recent, and each office settles them its own way:

1. The starting date. Most recency rules look at the date the document was issued or signed. The HCCH's own example is a rule that a document be produced within a certain time after it was executed. The apostille date, the notary date and the translation date are different dates, and an office may name any of them.
2. The finish line. An office may measure to the day you submit the file, the day of your appointment or the day it reviews your case. When an appointment is a long way off, that difference matters.
3. The wording. Checklists use phrases such as "recently issued," "issued within," "not older than," "current" or "valid." When a checklist names a specific period, follow it exactly. When it only says "recent," ask what the office means.

Documents that describe a situation, such as a criminal record check, a single status affidavit, a certificate of good standing, a bank letter or proof of address, are the ones most often held to a recency rule. Records of a fixed event, such as a birth, a death or a completed degree, are held to one less often, although some offices still want a newly issued certified copy.

There is no single national or international standard. Two consulates of the same country can apply different rules, and a civil registry may be stricter than the consulate that issued your visa. That is why this guide gives you questions to ask rather than a number to rely on.

How to ask the receiving office about document age

Ask the office that will receive the document, in writing if you can, and ask about each document separately. The consulate, civil registry, court, immigration agency, employer or university abroad sets the rule, and your lawyer abroad usually knows it. Get the answer before you order, because the order date shapes everything that follows.

These questions cover what you need to know:

• Does this document need to be recently issued, and what exact wording does your rule use?
• Which date do you count from: the issue date on the document, the notarization, the apostille or the translation?
• Which date do you count to: the day I submit, my appointment, or the day you decide?
• Do you accept an electronic apostille, or only a paper one?
• Does the translation have to be made in your country, or by a particular kind of translator?
• If one document is refused, can I replace it without restarting the whole application?

Keep the answer with your file: an email, a saved copy of the checklist with the date you downloaded it, or the written instructions from your lawyer. If the official at the counter later applies a different rule, a written answer gives you something specific to point to.

If you are applying through a lawyer abroad, ask the lawyer first. Lawyers who file with the same registry or consulate regularly usually know how it applies its own rules.

Send us the checklist or the office's email with your order, and our free document review reads it against your documents before you pay. We are not a law firm and do not give legal advice, but we can tell you which of your documents a rule covers and when to order each one.

Document by document: what can go stale

Documents that describe your current situation are the ones offices most often want recent: FBI and state record checks, single status affidavits, certificates of good standing and bank letters. Records of fixed events, such as a death certificate or a diploma, are held to age rules less often. Either way, the receiving office has the final word.

Two things hold for every row. The apostille on the document never expires, and a new document always needs a new apostille. If you are not sure which group a document falls into, send us a photo and tell us where it is going.

How we time your apostille order to an appointment

We work backward from your appointment or filing date. Stable documents, such as a diploma, can be apostilled early. Short-lived documents, such as an FBI check or a single status affidavit, are ordered close to the date, with enough time left for the apostille, shipping and any translation. You get a plan for each step before you pay.

1. Start with the date and the rule. Tell us when and where you file, and send the checklist or the office's email. If there is no written rule, use the questions above.
2. Sort the documents. We separate records that stay current, such as a diploma or a death certificate, from those an office may want fresh, such as an FBI check, a certificate of good standing or a single status affidavit.
3. Add real lead times. Express takes 1 to 5 business days in most states, Economy takes 1 to 3 weeks, and an FBI report apostille takes 2 to 6 weeks through the U.S. Department of State. Massachusetts and New Hampshire documents can go same-day, with a guaranteed 24-hour turnaround. Embassy legalization for non-Hague countries is quoted per country.
4. Set the order dates. We tell you when to request each short-lived document so it is as fresh as possible on your filing date, and we file the stable ones first so they do not hold up the file.
5. Track it to the finish. You follow each document in your online order tracker, and we tell you right away if an office runs slower than expected.

The FBI check is where timing matters most, because it is the document offices most often want recent and the one with the longest apostille route. Request it directly from the FBI through its electronic departmental order at edo.cjis.gov. As the FBI published it in September 2026, online requests return results within 48 hours of electronic fingerprinting at a participating U.S. Post Office (see the FBI's Identity History Summary page). The federal apostille, not the check, is the slow step, so email us the electronic result the day it arrives. Our guides to getting an FBI background check and how long an apostille takes cover both steps.

The same planning applies to a Golden Visa or residency file, where your lawyer sets the filing date, and to a wedding abroad, where the registry's rules and the wedding date set the schedule. For destinations such as Portugal, Spain and Italy, the office that receives your file decides what recent means, and it is the office we plan around.

What to do if a document is refused as too old

Replace the document, not the apostille. Order a newly issued certified copy, a new FBI check or a new company certificate, get the new document apostilled, and hand it in. Before you order, get the office's rule in writing, so the replacement meets it the first time. The refused document stays genuine and keeps its apostille.

1. Get the reason in writing. Ask which rule the office applied and which dates it compared. Sometimes the real problem is the translation or a missing page, not the age.
2. Confirm it is the document, not the apostille. The HCCH says an apostille may not be rejected on the basis of its age. If the office doubts the apostille itself, it can verify it with the authority that issued it, often through an online register.
3. Order the replacement. A new certified copy comes from the vital records office or court that issued the original. A new FBI result comes from the FBI. A new certificate of good standing comes from the state of formation. A notarized copy of an old FBI report cannot be apostilled, so a new FBI result is the only route.
4. Apostille the new document. Each document needs its own apostille. Never remove an apostille to reuse it: the HCCH says detaching an apostille from its document invalidates it.
5. Ask whether the file can stay open. Some offices let you replace one document instead of starting over. Ask whether yours does, and by which date.
6. Pick the fastest route. Express takes 1 to 5 business days in most states. For Massachusetts and New Hampshire documents, our same-day apostille service costs $385.95 with a guaranteed 24-hour turnaround.

We are not a law firm, and we cannot argue a refusal with an office abroad. In practice, replacing a document is usually quicker than contesting a rule, and our free review checks that the replacement matches what the office asked for.

e-Apostilles and online registers

Electronic apostilles follow the same rule as paper ones: no expiry date. The HCCH says an e-Apostille is just as valid as a paper apostille, and it stays valid even after the signing official's digital certificate expires, provided that certificate was valid on the day of issue. Registers let a receiving office check any apostille, old or new.

Every apostille office must keep a register of the apostilles it issues, with at least the number, the date and who signed the underlying document. A receiving office can ask the issuing office to confirm that an apostille matches its register. Because apostilles do not expire, the HCCH's Apostille Handbook recommends keeping register records for as long as possible.

Many offices now run e-Registers, online look-ups where anyone holding the apostille can confirm it, and an office that runs one prints the web address on its apostilles. The HCCH's e-APP implementation chart, updated in August 2026, lists e-Registers for the apostille offices of Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and West Virginia. It lists Kentucky and Montana as issuing e-Apostilles, and it confirms that e-Apostilles issued under pilot programs in states such as Connecticut, Utah and Washington are validly issued.

For you, registers matter in two ways. An office abroad that doubts an older apostille can check it in minutes instead of refusing it. And if you receive an e-Apostille, keep the electronic file exactly as issued, because the digital signature is what the receiving office verifies. Ask the receiving office first whether it accepts electronic apostilles at all.

Apostille expiration myths

Most confusion about apostille expiration comes from mixing up the certificate and the document it sits on. The certificate has an issue date and no expiry date. The document has an issue date that a receiving office may judge. Keep the two apart and nearly every myth below falls away.

"The date on my apostille is when it expires."

It is the date the apostille was issued, recorded in field 6 of the certificate. No field on an apostille shows an expiry date.

"Apostilles have to be renewed."

No renewal exists. When an office wants a more recent document, you get a new document and a new apostille on it.

"A fresh apostille makes an old document current."

Not when the office counts from the document's issue date. A second apostille on the same paper adds a new certificate date and nothing else.

"An apostille can be moved to a new copy."

It cannot. The apostille certifies the signature on one specific document, and the HCCH says detaching it invalidates it.

"Every country uses the same rule."

There is no shared rule. Each receiving office sets its own, and two offices in the same country can differ.

"If apostilles never expire, an office cannot refuse my document."

The Convention protects the apostille, not the document. The HCCH confirms that authorities in the destination country may set time limits on accepting the underlying document. See our Secretary of State apostille guide for which office issues each apostille in the first place.