- People who wish to use official U.S.-issued documents abroad do not require embassy certification. Instead the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office authenticates U.S. documents for use abroad and the secretary of state for each U.S. state issues apostille stamps to legalize certificates that were issued in that state for use abroad.
- Documents originating from any country that has signed the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation of Foreign Public Documents, including the United States, do not require embassy certification in order to become legal for use abroad. Instead, obtaining an apostille stamp is required.
- Documents originating from countries like Bangladesh, Egypt, China, Nicaragua and Zimbabwe must be embassy-certified in order to be used abroad. The process consists of taking the document to the embassy or consulate (of the country in which the document will be used) in the country where the document was issued in order to be examined and then certified.