Competent authority
Also called designated authority
Definition
The body a Convention party designates to issue apostilles for documents originating within its jurisdiction.
Context
The United States designates more than one: state authorities for state and notarized documents, and the Department of State for federal documents. Identifying the right one for a given document is the single most common point of failure.
Government sources
Where this term comes from.
- Full text — Apostille Convention (1961)
Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) · reviewed 2026-08-01
- Authenticate an official document for use outside the U.S.
USAGov · reviewed 2026-08-01
Related terms
- ApostilleA certificate issued under the 1961 Hague Convention that authenticates the origin of a public document so it can be recognized in any other Convention party without further legalization.
- Office of AuthenticationsThe office within the U.S. Department of State that authenticates federal documents for use abroad, issuing apostilles for Convention destinations and authentication certificates for others.