An Apostille is a certificate issued by a designated authority in a country where the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization of Foreign Public Documents, the Apostille Convention, is in force. Apostilles authenticate the seals and signatures of officials on public documents such as birth certificates, notarials, court orders, or any other document issued by a public authority, so that they can be recognized in foreign countries that are parties to the Convention. Document Authentication Complete the following steps to authenticate a UAH official transcript or diploma: Request an official transcript and/or a duplicate diploma. Forms must be submitted to the Registrar's Office. (Notes: It takes approximately one business day for official transcripts to be processed. Do not open sealed envelope; the notary will do this for you. It takes approximately 3-6 weeks for a diploma to arrive from our vendor.) Schedule an appointment with the notary in the Registrar's Office (registrar@uah.edu), Student Services Building, Suite 120. You will be provided a memo with the University Registrar's signature notarized for each document submitted. Submit all notarized documents to the Probate Judge of Madison County to authenticate the notary commission. Complete the Authentication Submittal Form and mail it with the document(s) to the Alabama Secretary of State in Montgomery. The student or representative is responsible for obtaining and submitting all the necessary documents. Resources Hague Convention Alabama Secretary of State Madison County Alabama Probate Judge