Can an apostille expire?

We get this question all the time. In most cases your apostille will not expire but there are some exceptions. As always contact us the experts to verify that your apostille will not expire and will remain valid. Some countries require the document to have been issued recently to perform a valid apostille. For example, some original documents such as a Virginia certificate will need to have been issued in the past 6 months to be eligible for an apostille. Certain countries apostilles will expire for example apostilles for use in Belgium need to be used within 6 months. Finally, the notarization needs to be valid for an apostille to be executed. If the notary’s commission was valid at the time the notarization took place, then the document is eligible for an apostille. Even if the notary’s commission expires after the notarization takes place the document is still eligible since the notarization is a snapshot of the signatures taking place on that day and time. If the Notary’s commission is expired at the time of signing, then the notarization is not valid and cannot be eligible for an apostille. Please feel free to contact us so we can better aid you in clarifying if your apostille will expire.