While I understand the thought behind the apostille process and the need for one country’s documents to be validated as authentic by the issuing governmental authority, the process to get this designation is a real pain in the arse.
It mostly comes into play when a state government issued document or such is needed to be accepted internationally. One of the downsides to having states, one would assume. So let’s say that one has a driver’s license from a certain state, in order for that license to be accepted by a foreign government, the Secretary of State’s office of that particular state must state that the license is authentic. And then it will be accepted by the foreign government. But only if that foreign government has reciprocity via an agreement with that state.
So that’s why my Maryland driver’s license can be accepted without a written exam in SoKo and Jenn’s New Jersey license requires her to sit. But for that acceptance to happen, it had to first be notarized by the county government, then sent to the state government for the apostille and then forwarded to me here in Korea.
One question: Shouldn’t the fancy-shmancy hologram and seal on the license be enough to prove its validity? It’s like how hard would it be to have a sample of the document in every jurisdiction as part of that reciprocity?
MD sample license
Bygones.
I actually wrote an article on how to obtain a Apostille on a Driver License from South Korea. Another alternative I ask my clients is to mail in their original driver license so I can copy certify it. It’s a bit of a challenge especially if the person is already in South Korea. Hope the article I wrote helps.
Hi Richard,
The challenge came in when the US Embassy stopped certifying driving licenses. Apparently that’s a new thing and previously it was never an issue. They could have done a better job of informing the public that there was a change.
No worries, though, as that ship has sailed and I expect to have my apostille in hand in a week or so.
You may want to post your article on the SoKo ESL and waygook boards if you haven’t already.
Thanks for the comment!