APOSTILLE
The origin of a public document must be validated before it can be used in a country other than the one where it was issued.
The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization of Foreign Public Documents, adopted on October 5, 1961, in The Hague, The Netherlands, exempted from legalization the public documents that must be presented in their territories, requiring only the affixation of the apostille as the only formality.
Mexico ratified the Hague Convention on August 14, 1995, to simplify the process of document authentication through the issuance of a single certificate of authenticity known as an apostille, which is issued by the authorities of the country where the document was issued.
The apostille, like the authentication (legalization), only verifies that the signature or seal on the document was issued by a public official in the performance of his or her duties, but it does not certify the legitimacy of the document's content.
Visit the ABC of Apostilles for additional information on the Apostille.
Apostille of public Mexican documents
Mexican public documents that will be used in Saudi Arabia (a member of the Hague Convention) must be apostilled in the corresponding office according to the following criteria:
- Federal documents must be apostilled by the Secretaría de Gobernación (Ministry of the Interior)
- Documents issued by Mexico City officials must be apostilled by Dirección General Jurídica y de Estudios Legislativos
- Documents issued in any other state of the Mexican Republic must be apostilled at the Designated Competent Authorities.
Apostille of Saudi and Bahraini public documents
If you need to apostille public documents issued by Saudi or Bahraini authorities and/or institutions for them to be valid in Mexico, you must follow the procedure before Designated Competent Authorities:
Saudi Arabia. Saudi public documents must be apostilled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For more information, visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Bahrain. Bahraini public documents must be apostilled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For more information, visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
LEGALIZATION
The Embassy of Mexico legalizes signatures and seals contained in foreign public documents issued in countries that have not adhered to the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961 (Oman and Yemen), and that have been previously legalized by the authorities authorized for such purposes in the issuing country.
The procedure consists of an act of certification by a consular officer for these documents to be valid in Mexico.
This certification shall never prejudge the content of the document.
Requirements:
Foreign documents are legalized using the original foreign signatures and/or seals.
- Request to the local authorities for the certification of the signature and/or stamp on the to be legalized.
-Oman: Foreign Ministry of Oman
-Yemen: Contact the local authorities for further information.
- Official ID with a copy.
Procedure:
- Once you have all of the required documents, send them by e-mail (PDF format) to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Once the documentation has been received and validated, the Consular Section will contact the applicant to schedule the delivery of the legalized documents.
- The following items are required on the day of the appointment:
- Submit the original required documents.
- On the day of the appointment, pay the fees.
- The procedure takes three working days.