IIMS ATTESTATION SERVICES
Types of Attestation
Attestation
There are three basic types of attestations:
State Attestation
State attestation is required before MEA attestation, where depending on the type of document, relevant state attestation is required. For example in case of educational documents, attestation from State Education Department is required. In case of personal documents, Home Department or General Administration Department of the concerned state should attest the document prior to attestation by the MEA
MEA Attestation or Apostille
MEA attestation or apostille is done only after attestation by the relevant state authorities
Embassy Attestation
Embassy attestation is done after the MEA attestation/apostille
Apostille
An Apostille is a type of attestation in which documents are legalized in a particular format that is acceptable in all nations that belong to the Hague Convention. Essentially, Apostille is an international attestation that is acceptable in about 92 countries, and most of the western world recognizes Apostille.
Apostille stamp is a square shaped computer generated sticker stamp, pasted on reverse of the document by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. This is a unique computer generated stamp having a unique identification number, through which any member country of The Hague convention can check its authenticity online. Under normal circumstances, once the document is apostilled, it does not require to be attested further from the concerned embassy.