Apostille

What is an apostille?

An apostille is a form of authentication established at the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. An apostille is used to authenticate public documents, certifying the authenticity of the issuing official’s or notary public’s signature on the document, the capacity in which the person has acted, and identifies the seal/stamp which the document bears. Apostilles are used as transmittals on documents executed in one subscribing country that are being sent to another subscribing country.

Authentications issued by the Indiana Secretary of State may NOT be used in the United States.

Typically, students/alumni require an apostille for their official transcripts and/or diplomas to be recognized in another country.

How to order an apostille for a document

  • Complete the Apostille Request Form for the Office of Academic Services.
    • The request form kicks off the process and allows you to submit an online payment for our postage and processing fee.
  • Complete the printable  Request for Apostille State Form for the Indiana State Department and email the completed form to  academicservices@evansville.edu
  • If needing an apostille for your transcript, please place an order for your official transcript.
    • Make sure to select “Pickup in Office” – this will allow us to print it in our office to avoid shipping fees and additional shipping time to receive it
  • If needing an apostille for your diploma, please place your diploma order.
    • Please select “Pickup in Office” – this will have the diploma sent straight to the University for notarization and processing
    • Diplomas typically take several weeks to print and ship to the University
  • If the document(s) need to be shipped internationally after the apostille process is complete, please review the E-ship Global instructions
    • The US Postal service is not reliable when it comes to tracking outside of the United States. E-ship Global has been proven to be reliable and provides tracking information through the whole process of shipping internationally.

Email the completed forms and any questions to academicservices@evansville.edu.

General Timeline of Receiving an Apostille

  • Order is placed for required document(s), forms are filled out and returned, E-ship Global order has been placed if necessary, and the apostille postage fee has been paid.
  • Once the document(s) have been received by our office (please allow 2-3 weeks after the diploma is ordered for the University to receive it), we will have them notarized on campus.
  • The documents will be shipped to the State Department for the apostille process.
  • Depending on if the requested mailing address is in the US or international, this changes where the State Department sends the documents after they finish their apostille process:
    • If the mailing address is international and requires an E-Ship Global Order, the documents will be sent back to our office once the apostille process is complete
    • If the mailing address is within the United States, the State Department will send the documents directly from their office to that mailing address.
  • If the mailing address is outside the US, our office will receive the documents with the completed apostille and notarization and schedule a pickup based on the submitted E-Ship Global order.
  • A carrier will pick up the documents and ship them to the international mailing address.
  • This process takes a minimum of a month to complete, so be aware of that when we start the process.

Apostille Checklist

Download a handy printable version of this checklist.