Divorce Decree Apostille

Judgment of Divorce legalization

A divorce is a dissolution of marriage; an end to a legal commitment. Legally, divorce is not official until a certificate of divorce is issued by the court.

A divorce decree is a legal document signed by the court that gives the basic facts of the divorce as well as the terms such as child custody, child or spousal support, property division and so forth. A divorce certificate is a short document that confirms the day and time the marriage between the two parties terminated.

If you were married and plan to remarry overseas, you will need a divorce certificate to accompany your affidavit of single status. If children were involved in your former marriage and you plan to travel with them, it is wise to have a copy of your divorce decree so you don’t get charged with international child kidnapping. A divorce decree is an important document when entering into foreign estate, inheritance, or business endeavors. It is also wise to have this document if a name change occurred as a result of the divorce.

Preparing Divorce Certificate for international use

Like the marriage certificate, divorce decrees and certificates are not government documents. There are no national or international marriage or divorce databases. The divorce decree is prepared in a county or state, but it is issued by the court, not the state itself. You will need to obtain a “certified copy” that is authenticated should you plan to use your decree or certificate overseas. This certified copy should be translated into the target language of the receiving country or countries.

A certified copy can be obtained from the court of jurisdiction. The authentication process required depends on the country or countries in which the document will be presented. Member countries of the Hague Convention of 1961 (currently 80 countries, 79 states, and one Regional Economic Integration Organization) require a stamp of authenticity known as a “document apostille”. Other countries require a Certificate of Authenticity from the U.S. Office of Authentications or U.S. Department of State, but may also require further stamps and seals including Consular certification by your embassy and theirs.

Apostille on Judgement of Divorce

To obtain a Divorce Decree or Divorce Certificate apostille, you must take your documents to the designated Competent Authority in the state where the document was issued. No state can apostille a document issued by another state, and the U.S. Department of State will almost never issue an apostille for any state issued documents; however, they will provide a Certificate of Authenticity if your document is not going to a Hague Convention country.

Once you receive your authenticated or apostilled document, you will need to have both the apostille and your documents translated. Most countries will not consider documents “legal” unless they are officially translated into the language of the country in which they will be presented. To be accepted, translations must meet stringent certification and notarization requirements.

Why employ a professional Apostille service

The court system and government authentication process can be difficult to navigate.
With so much riding on the accuracy and validity of these documents and the number of places your papers can end up in bureaucratic quagmire, it is highly recommended that you obtain the assistance of a professional divorce decree apostille and translation service. After all, they navigate these waters hundreds of times each month and have the inside track to the right people and processes.

Apoling Solutions is a full-service apostille, translation, and document retrieval service. This means that from one location, Apoling Solutions can obtain the correct copy of your divorce documents from the proper court, order certified copies, apostilles and authentication documents, translate (over 55 languages and English dialects!), certify translations, and expedite your documents to you.

Once you let Apoling Solutions know your plans, they will work with you to obtain your divorce decree apostille from any of the 50 U.S. states and/or the U.S. State Department depending on your needs. If you live overseas, Apoling Solutions will retrieve your documents and apostilles for you.

With Apoling Solutions, you need to contact just one agency regardless of where you live or how many documents you need. Even better, you have peace of mind knowing that your documents will be legal, accepted, and not require any additional services because they are guaranteed to align with all international and domestic requirements.