The authorities of the Hawaiian Islands have announced the launch of a new online service to simplify the apostille procedure. This was reported by MAUI NOW, citing a statement from the office of the state’s lieutenant governor.
Apostille for the United States
As Schmidt & Schmidt previously wrote, the United States of America became a party to the Hague Convention abolishing the requirement of legalisation of foreign public documents of 5 October 1961 (the Apostille Convention) on 24 December 1980. On 15 December 1981, this international instrument officially entered into force for the United States.
If previously, for the use of U.S. documents abroad, and foreign documents in the United States, it was mandatory to undergo a lengthy and costly consular legalisation procedure, since 1981 apostille certification has been sufficient for their recognition in both cases.
However, it is possible to apostille only those documents that are intended for use in countries that are members of the 1961 Hague Convention. In all other cases, the requirement for consular legalisation remains. At the same time, in a number of U.S. states a so-called “universal certificate” has been introduced — a special unified form that is considered simultaneously an apostille and a mark of consular legalisation of the document.
Unlike many other states, the United States does not have a single authority that carries out apostille certification and consular legalisation of documents at the national level. The authority authorised to certify a document with an apostille depends on the entity that issued it.
Documents of federal authorities are apostilled by the Office of Authentications of the U.S. Department of State, documents of federal courts — by the clerks of the Federal Court System, and all other documents (civil status records, medical, educational documents, etc.) — by state authorities, most often the Secretary of State or the Lieutenant Governor. They do not accept and process documents personally, but through authorised departments within their offices.
Apostille in the Hawaiian Islands
The Lieutenant Governor is responsible for the legalisation of documents intended for use abroad in the Hawaiian Islands. If certification is carried out for countries that are parties to the 1961 Hague Convention, applicants are provided with apostille services; for other states, a special certificate used within the framework of consular legalisation is issued.
Official documents issued by the state authorities of Hawaii — bearing the state seal (or that of its Department of State) and the signature of an authorised official — are subject to apostille certification without additional certification.
If a document is issued privately (a diploma, power of attorney, affidavit, etc.), it must first be notarised. The notary’s signature must then be certified by the Legal Documents Section of the district court. After that, the document may be submitted for apostille certification to the office of the Lieutenant Governor.
A special procedure applies to documents certifying civil status registration (birth, death, marriage, etc.). If they were issued after 1 January 2025, they may be submitted for apostille certification directly. However, if civil registry certificates were issued earlier, they must be reissued by applying to the State Department of Health. If this is done specifically for apostille purposes, the Department will itself forward the document to the office of the Lieutenant Governor.
How has the procedure for submitting documents for apostille certification in the Hawaiian Islands changed? The authorities of the Hawaiian Islands have launched a new online portal that simplifies the process of requesting apostilles and certifications.
The apostille and certification online portal allows users to complete applications online, make electronic payments, and track the status of applications in real time. Previously, payments were accepted only in cash, by cheque, or by money order.
“This online system brings a process that has existed for several decades into the modern era, increasing efficiency and ensuring that government services work better for everyone… Whether you are studying abroad, starting a business, or resolving family matters overseas, our goal is to ensure the fastest and most efficient authentication of your documents.”
— said Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke.
Although original documents still need to be sent in hard copy by mail or courier, the new online system provides better communication between users and staff, allowing corrections to be made more quickly in the event of errors, changes, or missing information. In addition to electronic payments, payment is still accepted in cash, by cheque, and by money order.
The portal was developed by Tyler Technologies, Inc., a provider of integrated software and technology services for the public sector, under an existing contract with the state.
If an applicant does not include a prepaid, self-addressed return envelope in the package with the documents, the state authorities will send the legalised document via the United States Postal Service to the address specified in the application.
The office of the Lieutenant Governor reserves the right to reject applications for apostille or certification that violate state or federal laws.
The standard processing time for legalisation is 7 to 10 business days. There is no expedited processing procedure. Together with the issuance of a reissued civil registry certificate, the entire process may take 3 to 4 weeks.
The apostille application contains the following information:
- Last name and first name;
- Mailing address;
- Email address (if available);
- Name of the document to be apostilled;
- Country of use;
- Purpose of use;
- Signature;
- Date.
What is an apostille?
What is an apostille? Why do I need an apostille? How do I get an apostille? - Our video will explain everything you need to know about the apostille. If you have a document that needs to be certified with an apostille for use abroad, Schmidt and Schmidt will assist you! We provide apostille services in more than 100 countries worldwide.
