The Hague Apostille Convention, drafted in 1961, has been simplifying international document use since 1965 (see FAQ: When was the Hague Convention ratified?).
At that time, the focus was entirely on paper documents with physical signatures and seals – digital technology wasn’t a factor. Therefore, the original Convention text doesn’t explicitly mention ‘e-Apostilles’.
However, the Convention’s fundamental purpose—to create a more straightforward, universally recognised method for authenticating documents between member countries (see FAQ: What is the main purpose of the Hague Apostille Convention)—is highly relevant to modern digital processes.
To ensure the Convention remained effective, the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), the international organisation that administers the treaty, developed the electronic Apostille Programme (e-APP). (We explain the e-APP in FAQ: What is the e-APP?).
The e-APP is the modern implementation guide for the 1961 Convention’s principles in a digital format. It establishes the recommended technical standards and operational best practices that allow:
- Issuance: Designated Competent Authorities in member states (for the UK, only the FCDO Legalisation Office—see FAQ: Who issues apostilles in the UK?) can issue apostilles electronically. This typically involves embedding a secure digital apostille certificate into a PDF document that has already been electronically signed by a recognised official (like a UK solicitor or notary).
- Verification: Receiving countries can then reliably verify the authenticity of these e-Apostilles, usually via secure online registers linked to the issuing authority.
Crucially, an e-Apostille issued under the e-APP framework serves the exact same legal function under the Hague Convention as its paper counterpart: it authenticates the origin of the UK public document (verifying the underlying official or notary/solicitor signature and the capacity in which they acted).
It makes the document acceptable in other member countries without further legalisation.
This adaptation of the Hague Convention to embrace digital technology via the e-APP makes e-apostilles speedy and efficient.
It significantly reduces handling and transit times for eligible documents, allowing London to offer express apostille and sometimes even 24-hour apostille processing. This represents the fastest way to get an apostille for many urgent needs.
