Insurance Certificate Apostille and Attestation for Use Outside India
An insurance certificate apostille is requested less often than a degree or birth certificate, which is why people are unsure where to begin. The document is issued by the Indian insurance company that wrote the cover, as a policy schedule or a certificate of insurance signed by its officer. INFINITYGRO helps you get a signed copy from the insurer and then takes it through the notary, SDM and MEA, and the embassy where needed.
By the INFINITYGRO documentation teamUpdated Facts checked against MEA and HCCH
Birth certificate apostille sample
How can an Indian insurance policy be legalized for use abroad? Ask the insurer for a signed and stamped certificate or policy copy. A Delhi notary attests it, the SDM verifies the notary, and the MEA issues the insurance certificate apostille for Hague countries. For the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait or China, the MEA attests it and the embassy legalizes it. Check first whether the office abroad really wants it legalized.
Who asks for a legalized insurance document
The request usually comes from one of three directions. Each has its own logic.
Visa and residence offices
Some long-stay visa or residence permit files need proof of health cover. Most travel insurance for short visits is accepted as issued. Legalization comes up mainly when a ministry wants every Indian paper in the file authenticated.
Employers and family abroad
An employer may ask for a life or health policy as part of benefits or a claim. A family member settling a claim overseas may need the policy proved to a foreign court or bank.
Trade and shipping
Marine cargo insurance certificates travel with export documents under some contract terms. A buyer, bank or importing ministry may ask for them to be legalized with the shipment papers.
Key facts
| Issued by | The insurance company (life, health, general or marine) that wrote the policy |
|---|---|
| Common forms | Policy schedule, certificate of insurance, or a cover letter from the insurer |
| Who signs | An authorised officer of the insurer, with name, designation and office stamp |
| Electronic policies | Print the policy and have the insurer sign and stamp it, or issue a signed letter |
| Delhi route | Notary (Delhi) then SDM (Delhi) then MEA |
| Apostille countries | UK, USA, Canada, Australia, most of Europe (not Germany), Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Turkey |
| Embassy countries | UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, China and others |
| MEA fee | Rs 50 per document for Apostille; normal attestation is free |
Getting a signable copy from the insurer
Insurance in India is now largely electronic. Many policies arrive as a PDF by email or sit in an online account. A notary cannot attest a screen. You need paper that carries a real signature.
Write to your insurer's branch or service desk and ask for one of these:
- A printed policy schedule signed and stamped by an authorised officer.
- A certificate of insurance on the company's letterhead, signed and stamped.
- A letter confirming the cover, policy number, insured persons and period.
Every page should carry the stamp or a signature. The names must match the passport exactly. If a dependant is covered, check that their name and date of birth are printed correctly.
Insurance certificate apostille through the Delhi route
- Notary. A Delhi notary attests the insurer-signed document.
- SDM. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Delhi verifies the notary's signature and seal.
- MEA. The ministry adds the Apostille, or its normal attestation stamp for embassy-route countries.
This route accepts personal documents issued anywhere in India, so a policy from an insurer's office in Mumbai or Chennai can come straight to us. The MEA checks only the authenticating officer's signature. It does not confirm the terms of the policy or whether it is in force. Our MEA Apostille page has more on the ministry stage.
A marine cargo certificate for a commercial shipment is a trade document. Foreign buyers often expect it to go through a Chamber of Commerce before the MEA, with the invoice and other shipping papers. Tell us if your certificate is part of an export file.
Insurance Certificate route by destination country
Each card shows whether the country takes an MEA Apostille or embassy legalization. Click a flag for that country.
UAEEmbassy legalization
QatarEmbassy legalization
KuwaitEmbassy legalization
Saudi ArabiaApostille
United KingdomApostille
United StatesApostille
ItalyApostille
SpainApostille
FranceApostille
ChinaEmbassy legalization
OmanApostille
BahrainApostille
No country matches. Call us: we handle most embassies in New Delhi.
Apostille MEA Apostille is the final stepEmbassy legalization MEA attestation, then the embassy in New DelhiGerman verification verified through the German Embassy
Apostille or embassy: by destination
The UK, USA, Canada, Australia, most European countries, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Turkey accept the MEA Apostille alone. Vietnam is added from 11 September 2026.
For the UAE, the route is MEA attestation, then the UAE Embassy in New Delhi, then UAE MOFA in the UAE. Embassy charges are separate; see our UAE embassy attestation charges page. Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq and Jordan follow MEA attestation with an embassy stamp. China uses the embassy route. Germany does not legalize Indian documents and may verify them through its embassy instead.
Insurance papers in a claim or estate abroad
When a policyholder dies and a claim or estate matter is handled abroad, the insurance document rarely travels alone. The foreign office usually wants the death certificate and proof of who the heirs are, such as a legal heir certificate. A medical record may also be requested.
Each paper is legalized separately. Collect them together, check that the deceased's name is spelled the same way on all of them, and send the set in one courier. That saves you time and a second set of courier charges.
Problems we see with insurance documents
- An unsigned PDF printout sent for notarisation.
- A policy that expired before the foreign office will look at it.
- A name on the policy that differs from the passport, such as initials instead of a full name.
- Only the first page stamped on a multi-page schedule.
- Apostilling a document meant for the UAE or Qatar, which needs embassy attestation.
Each of these is cheap to fix before the notary step and costly to fix after the MEA. Once the stamps are on, a corrected copy means starting the whole chain again.
A final check helps: put the policy next to your passport and the foreign checklist, and read the name, policy number and dates aloud. Most rejections we see come from small details that a two-minute check would have caught.
Sending the document and the cost
- The insurer-signed policy, certificate or letter
- A passport copy of the policyholder
- The destination country and the office asking
- Any other documents going with it
Our all-inclusive Delhi route costs Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 per document, covering notary, SDM, the MEA fee and our service. Courier is extra, and embassy fees apply for non-Apostille countries. The Delhi route usually takes 2 to 3 working days once we hold the papers. If the receiving office wants a translation, we can arrange a certified translation. Send a scan through our contact page for a written quote before you courier anything.
What the MEA stamps look like
Click any sample to enlarge. Personal details are masked.
Insurance Certificate apostille FAQs
Is insurance certificate apostille needed for a Schengen visa?
Usually not. Schengen travel insurance is normally submitted as issued by the insurer. Legalize it only if the consulate's checklist asks for it.
Can the MEA apostille an e-policy downloaded from the insurer's website?
Not directly. Print it and get the insurer to sign and stamp it, or ask for a signed letter confirming the cover. The notary needs a physical signature to attest.
Does the apostille prove my policy is valid?
No. The MEA confirms only the signature of the officer who authenticated the document. Whether the cover is active is a matter between you, the insurer and the office abroad.
Can my employer abroad accept a group policy certificate?
If the insurer issues a certificate in your name under the group policy, it can be legalized like any other policy document. Check with the employer what they want to see.
What about a marine cargo insurance certificate?
It is a commercial document. Buyers and importing ministries often expect Chamber of Commerce authentication before the MEA. Send it with your export documents and we will confirm the route.
Can I hand the policy to the MEA myself for an insurance certificate apostille?
No. Since 2012 the MEA accepts documents only through its authorised outsourced centres, and a personal document must first carry the notary and SDM authentication. We manage those stages and the submission for you, then return the finished document.
Can I courier the policy from another state?
Yes. Send the signed document to our Delhi office. We return it by Blue Dart or a similar tracked courier. Delhi NCR clients can also drop it at our New Ashok Nagar office.
Need your Insurance Certificate legalized?
WhatsApp a photo of the document and the destination country. We reply with the route and a written quote.