An MEA Apostille in India is a single certificate from the Ministry of External Affairs that makes your degree, birth certificate, marriage certificate or company paper valid in Apostille Convention countries. INFINITYGRO gets the authentication and the Apostille done from our Delhi office and sends the document back to you.
By the INFINITYGRO documentation teamUpdated Facts checked against MEA and HCCH
How do you get an MEA Apostille in India? First an Indian authority confirms the signature on your document: the issuing state's department, Notary and SDM in Delhi, or a Chamber of Commerce for company papers. Then the Ministry of External Affairs fixes the Apostille. The MEA fee is ₹50 per document, and by the Delhi route most documents are ready in 2 to 3 working days.
The Apostille is a standard certificate created by the 1961 Hague Convention. Instead of every foreign embassy checking every Indian document, the country that issued the document certifies it once, and all other member countries accept that certificate.
In India that certificate is issued by the Ministry of External Affairs through its Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV) Division. It is printed as a square sticker on the back of the document, with a unique number, the date and the name of the officer whose signature it confirms.
Two points matter in practice. The MEA does not check what the document says; it confirms the signature of the officer who authenticated it before. And since July 2012 the MEA does not take documents from individuals at its counter in New Delhi. Documents reach it through authorised outsourced centres, which is where an agency like ours handles the file for you.
| Who issues an Apostille in India | The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV) Division, New Delhi, and MEA branch secretariats. |
|---|---|
| India in the Apostille Convention | In force for India since 14 July 2005. |
| Countries that accept an Apostille | 130 contracting parties to the Hague Apostille Convention as of 30 June 2026. |
| First step before the MEA | Personal documents: state Home or General Administration Department. Educational: state Education department. Commercial: Chamber of Commerce. |
| What the MEA checks | The signature of the authenticating officer, not the contents of the document. Photocopies are not legalized. |
| MEA government fee | ₹50 per document for an Apostille. MEA normal attestation is free. Agency, embassy and courier charges are separate. |
| Countries that still need embassy legalization | Countries outside the convention, for example UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Egypt. |
| Exceptions for Indian documents | China: India objected to China's accession (8 September 2023), so an Apostille is not valid between them. Germany: objected to India's accession in 2005 and verifies Indian documents through its embassy instead. |
The Hague Apostille Convention has 130 contracting parties. An Indian Apostille works in most of them, but there are three groups to watch.
Europe (including Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Finland, which withdrew their earlier objections to India), the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and, since 11 September 2026, Vietnam.
India objected to China's accession on 8 September 2023, and Germany objected to India's accession in 2005. The convention does not apply between these pairs, so Indian documents need a different route.
China routeCountries outside the convention need MEA attestation followed by embassy legalization in New Delhi.
Embassy attestationSource: HCCH status table and India's objection to China's accession, checked 24 October 2026.
Every route ends at the same MEA sticker. What differs is who confirms the signature first, and how long that takes.
A notary in Delhi, then the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, then the MEA. Suits most personal and educational documents from any state. Usually 2 to 3 working days.
The issuing state's Education or HRD department for academic documents, or its Home or General Administration Department for personal ones. Use it when a university, employer or authority abroad asks for state verification.
HRD attestationBoards and universities linked to the MEA's e-Sanad system can have their documents verified and apostilled online. The online form asks for your passport number, so share a passport copy with the document.
A recognised Chamber of Commerce authenticates invoices, certificates of origin and company papers, and the MEA apostilles them after that.
Commercial documentsPolice clearance certificates issued through Passport Seva are already signed by the passport office, so they go straight to the MEA without notary or SDM steps.
Open a document for its own guide. If yours is not listed, WhatsApp a photo and we will confirm the route.
The government fee is small. What you pay for is the authentication before it and the handling at each office.
| MEA government fee | ₹50 per document |
|---|---|
| INFINITYGRO all-inclusive, Delhi route | ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 per document, covering notary, SDM, the MEA fee and our service |
| Courier | Extra, both ways |
| Translation, if needed | Quoted by language and number of pages |
| Usual time, Delhi route | About 2 to 3 working days |
| Usual time, state route | Depends on the issuing state's department |
The notary, the SDM and the MEA's outsourced centres are all within reach of our office, so a file can move from one to the next on the same or the following day. The state route depends on a department in the issuing state, which may have its own appointment system and queue.
Some receiving offices abroad name the state route in their checklist. If yours does, we follow it. If it does not, the Delhi route is accepted for most documents and saves time.
Click to enlarge. Personal details are masked.
It is a certificate placed by the Ministry of External Affairs on the back of an Indian public document, which every Hague Apostille Convention country then recognises. It confirms the signature of the Indian officer who authenticated the document. After it, no embassy stamp is needed.
The MEA's own fee is ₹50 per document. Through INFINITYGRO the all-inclusive charge is usually ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 per document by the Delhi route, which covers the notary, SDM attestation, the MEA fee and our work. Courier is extra.
By the Delhi route (Notary, SDM, MEA) most documents are ready in about 2 to 3 working days. The state route takes longer because it depends on the issuing state's department.
No. India objected to China's accession, Germany objected to India's accession, and the UAE is not a member of the convention. Documents for these countries follow other routes, which we handle as well.
The MEA does not apostille plain photocopies. Some documents can be apostilled as notarised true copies where the destination accepts them. Send us a photo first and we will tell you which applies.
Every document needs an Indian authority to confirm its signature first. That can be the issuing state's department, Notary and SDM in Delhi for many personal and educational documents, or a Chamber of Commerce for commercial papers. Some board and university documents can go through the MEA's online e-Sanad system.
WhatsApp a photo of the document and the country. You get back the route, the timeline and one total price.
