（订于一九六一年十月五日）
本公约签署国，
希望取消对外国公文书进行外交或领事认证的要求，决定为此目的缔结本公约，并议定以下条款：
第一条
本公约适用于在一缔约国领土内制作，且需要在另一缔约国领土内出示的公文书。
在适用本公约时，下列文书被认为是公文书：
（一）与一国法院或法庭相关的机关或官员出具的文书，包括由检察官、法院书记员或司法执行员（“执达员”）出具的文书；
（二）行政文书；
（三）公证文书；
（四）对以私人身份签署的文件的官方证明，如对文件的登记或在特定日期存在的事实进行记录的官方证明，以及对签名的官方和公证证明。
但本公约不适用于：
（一）外交或领事人员制作的文书；
（二）直接处理商业或海关运作的行政文书。
第二条
缔约国对适用本公约且需在其领土内出示的文书应免除认证要求。就本公约而言，认证仅指文书出示地国的外交或领事人员为证明签名的真实性、文书签署人签署时的身份，以及在需要时为确认文书上的印鉴属实而履行的手续。
第三条
为证明签名的真实性、文书签署人签署时的身份，以及在需要时为确认文书上的印鉴属实，仅可能需要办理的手续是文书出具国主管机关签发第四条规定的附加证明书。
如根据文书出示地国现行法律、法规或惯例，或者根据两个或多个缔约国间的协定，前款所指手续已被取消或简化，或者已免除对文书的认证，则不得要求履行前款所规定的手续。
第四条
第三条第一款所指的附加证明书应附于文书本身或附页上，其样式应与本公约所附样本一致。
附加证明书可用签发它的主管机关使用的官方语言填写。附加证明书中标准事项亦可用另一种语言书写。附加证明书的标题“附加证明书（1961 年10 月5 日海牙公约）”应用法文书写。
第五条
附加证明书应根据文书签署人或任何文书持有人的申请签发。
正确填写的附加证明书可以证明签名的真实性、文书签署人签署时的身份，以及在需要时确认文书上的印鉴属实。附加证明书上的签名及印鉴无需任何证明。
第六条
缔约国应根据其机关的官方职责，指定有权签发第三条第一款所指附加证明书的主管机关。缔约国应在交存批准书、加入书或扩展适用范围声明时将上述指定通知荷兰外交部。对指定的主管机关的任何变更也应予以通知。
第七条
根据第六条所指定的主管机关，应备有登记册或卡片索引以记录所签发的附加证明书，并详细列明：
（一）附加证明书的编号和日期；
（二）公文书签署人的姓名及其签署时的身份；无签名文书上印鉴机关的名称。
应任何利害关系人的申请，签发附加证明书的主管机关应核实附加证明书上的事项是否与登记册或卡片索引的记录一致。
第八条
如果两个或多个缔约国间的条约、公约或协定规定对签名或印鉴应履行某种证明手续，则本公约仅在这些手续较第三条、第四条规定的手续更严格的情况下优先适用。
第九条
缔约国应采取必要措施，以避免本国外交或领事人员在依本公约规定应予免除的情况下进行认证。
第十条
本公约对出席海牙国际私法会议第九届会议的国家及爱尔兰、冰岛、列支敦士登和土耳其开放签署。本公约须经批准，批准书应交存荷兰外交部。
第十一条
本公约应于第三份批准书按第十条第二款规定交存后第 60 日起生效。
对于此后批准本公约的签署国，公约自其交存批准书后第 60 日起对其生效。
第十二条
第十条未提及的任何国家可在公约根据第十一条第一款生效后加入本公约。加入书应交存荷兰外交部。此类加入仅应在加入国与那些在收到第十五条第（四）项规定的通知后 6 个月内对其加入未提出异议的缔约国之间生效。任何此类异议应通知荷兰外交部。公约应自前款规定的6个月期限届满后的第60日起在加入国与对其加入不持异议的国家之间生效。
第十三条
任何国家可在签署、批准或加入本公约时声明，本公约应扩展适用于由其负责国际关系的全部领土，或者其中一处或几处。此类声明应自本公约对有关国家生效之日起发生效力。
此后任何时候，此类扩展适用事项应通知荷兰外交部。如公约的签署和批准国作出此类扩展适用声明，公约应根据第十一条的规定对声明所提及的领土生效。如公约的加
入国作出此类扩展适用声明，公约应根据第十二条的规定对声明所提及的领土生效。
第十四条
本公约自第十一条第一款规定的生效之日起5 年内有效，对后来批准或加入本公约的国家同样适用。
如未经废止，本公约每 5 年自动展期一次。
废止应至少在 5 年期届满的6 个月前通知荷兰外交部。
废止可仅限于本公约适用的某些领土。废止仅对发出废止通知的国家有效。本公约对其他缔约国仍然有效。
第十五条
荷兰外交部应将下列事项通知第十条所指的国家和根据第十二条加入本公约的国家：
（一）第六条第二款所述的通知；
（二）第十条所述的签署和批准；
（三）本公约根据第十一条第一款生效的日期；
（四）第十二条所述的加入和异议，及加入的生效日期；
（五）第十三条所述的扩展适用范围及其生效日期；
（六）第十四条第三款所述的废止。
下列经正式授权的签署人签署本公约，以昭信守。
本公约于一九六一年十月五日订于海牙，用法文和英文写成。两种文本如发生分歧，以法文本为准。正本一份，交由荷兰政府存档，其经证明无误的副本应通过外交途径送交出席海牙国际私法会议第九届会议的国家以及爱尔兰、冰岛、列支敦士登和土耳其。
CONVENTION ABOLISHING THE REQUIREMENT OF LEGALISATION FOR FOREIGN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS
(Concluded 5 October 1961)
The States signatory to the present Convention,
Desiring to abolish the requirement of diplomatic or consular legalisation for foreign public documents, Have resolved to conclude a Convention to this effect and have agreed upon the following provisions:
Article 1
The present Convention shall apply to public documents which have been executed in the territory of one Contracting State and which have to be produced in the territory of another Contracting State. For the purposes of the present Convention, the following are deemed to be public documents:
a) documents emanating from an authority or an official connected with the courts or tribunals of the State, including those emanating from a public prosecutor, a clerk of a court or a process-server ("huissier de justice");
b) administrative documents;
c) notarial acts;
d) official certificates which are placed on documents signed by persons in their private capacity, such as official certificates recording the registration of a document or the fact that it was in existence on a certain date and official and notarial authentications of signatures.
However, the present Convention shall not apply:
a) to documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents;
b) to administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations.
Article 2
Each Contracting State shall exempt from legalisation documents to which the present Convention applies and which have to be produced in its territory. For the purposes of the present Convention, legalisation means only the formality by which the diplomatic or consular agents of the country in which the document has to be produced certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which it bears.
Article 3
The only formality that may be required in order to certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which it bears, is the addition of the certificate described in Article 4, issued by the competent authority of the State from which the document emanates. However, the formality mentioned in the preceding paragraph cannot be required when either the laws, regulations, or practice in force in the State where the document is produced or an agreement between two or more Contracting States have abolished or simplified it, or exempt the document itself from legalisation.
Article 4
The certificate referred to in the first paragraph of Article 3 shall be placed on the document itself or on an "allonge"; it shall be in the form of the model annexed to the present Convention. It may, however, be drawn up in the official language of the authority which issues it. The standard terms appearing therein may be in a second language also. The title "Apostille (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961)" shall be in the French language.
Article 5
The certificate shall be issued at the request of the person who has signed the document or of any bearer. When properly filled in, it will certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which the document bears. The signature, seal and stamp on the certificate are exempt from all certification.
Article 6
Each Contracting State shall designate by reference to their official function, the authorities who are competent to issue the certificate referred to in the first paragraph of Article 3. It shall give notice of such designation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands at the time it deposits its instrument of ratification or of accession or its declaration of extension. It shall also give notice of any change in the designated authorities.
Article 7
Each of the authorities designated in accordance with Article 6 shall keep a register or card index in which it shall record the certificates issued, specifying:
a) the number and date of the certificate,
b) the name of the person signing the public document and the capacity in which he has acted, or in the case of unsigned documents, the name of the authority which has affixed the seal or stamp.
At the request of any interested person, the authority which has issued the certificate shall verify whether the particulars in the certificate correspond with those in the register or card index.
Article 8
When a treaty, convention or agreement between two or more Contracting States contains provisions which subject the certification of a signature, seal or stamp to certain formalities, the present Convention will only override such provisions if those formalities are more rigorous than the formality referred to in Articles 3 and 4.
Article 9
Each Contracting State shall take the necessary steps to prevent the performance of legalisations by its diplomatic or consular agents in cases where the present Convention provides for exemption.
Article 10
The present Convention shall be open for signature by the States represented at the Ninth Session of the Hague Conference on Private International Law and Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein and Turkey. It shall be ratified, and the instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
Article 11
The present Convention shall enter into force on the sixtieth day after the deposit of the third instrument of ratification referred to in the second paragraph of Article 10. The Convention shall enter into force for each signatory State which ratifies subsequently on the sixtieth day after the deposit of its instrument of ratification.
Article 12
Any State not referred to in Article 10 may accede to the present Convention after it has entered into force in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 11. The instrument of accession shall be deposited with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
Such accession shall have effect only as regards the relations between the acceding State and those Contracting States which have not raised an objection to its accession in the six months after the receipt of the notification referred to in sub-paragraph d) of Article 15. Any such objection shall be notified to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
The Convention shall enter into force as between the acceding State and the States which have raised no objection to its accession on the sixtieth day after the expiry of the period of six months mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
Article 13
Any State may, at the time of signature, ratification or accession, declare that the present Convention shall extend to all the territories for the international relations of which it is responsible, or to one or more of them. Such a declaration shall take effect on the date of entry into force of the Convention for the State concerned.
At any time thereafter, such extensions shall be notified to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
When the declaration of extension is made by a State which has signed and ratified, the Convention shall enter into force for the territories concerned in accordance with Article 11. When the declaration of extension is made by a State which has acceded, the Convention shall enter into force for the territories concerned in accordance with Article 12.
Article 14
The present Convention shall remain in force for five years from the date of its entry into force in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 11, even for States which have ratified it or acceded to it subsequently.
If there has been no denunciation, the Convention shall be renewed tacitly every five years.
Any denunciation shall be notified to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands at least six months before the end of the five year period.
It may be limited to certain of the territories to which the Convention applies.
The denunciation will only have effect as regards the State which has notified it. The Convention shall remain in force for the other Contracting States.
Article 15
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands shall give notice to the States referred to in Article 10, and to the States which have acceded in accordance with Article 12, of the following:
a) the notifications referred to in the second paragraph of Article 6;
b) the signatures and ratifications referred to in Article 10;
c) the date on which the present Convention enters into force in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 11;
d) the accessions and objections referred to in Article 12 and the date on which such accessions take effect;
e) the extensions referred to in Article 13 and the date on which they take effect;
f) the denunciations referred to in the third paragraph of Article 14.
In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed the present Convention.
Done at The Hague the 5th October 1961, in French and in English, the French text prevailing in case of divergence between the two texts, in a single copy which shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the Netherlands, and of which a certified copy shall be sent, through the diplomatic channel, to each of the States represented at the Ninth Session of the Hague Conference on Private International Law and also to Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein and Turkey.
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