The U.S. Embassy in Tallinn assumes no responsibility or liability for the professional ability or reputation of, or the quality of services provided by, the entities or individuals whose names appear on the following lists. Inclusion on this list is in no way an endorsement by the Department or the U.S. government. Names are listed alphabetically, and the order in which they appear has no other significance. The information on the list is provided directly by the local service providers; the Department is not in a position to vouch for such information.

Authentication of a U.S. Document for use in Estonia

Estonia and the United States are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention (also known as the Hague Legalization Convention).  Accordingly, in order to authenticate (or “legalize”) a document issued by a governmental entity in the United States for use in Estonia, you must obtain an “apostille” from the state where the document was issued (or from a federal office for certain documents issued by the U.S. federal government).  The U.S. Embassy does not issue apostilles.  Please read the U.S. Department of State’s explanation of apostilles.

In many countries, there is one office that issues all apostilles for that country.  In the United States, however, each state issues apostilles for its own documents.  Thus, for example, a California birth certificate must be authenticated with an apostille issued by the state of California.  Similarly, an Illinois marriage certificate must be authenticated by an apostille issued by the state of Illinois.  Each state maintains its own website explaining how to obtain an apostille from that state (easily found using standard search engines on the internet).  Please also see the list of the state (and federal) authentication authorities in the United States.