Does an Apostille Expire? Why Old Documents Still Get Rejected

The apostille itself has no expiry date

The Apostille Handbook (2nd edition, 2023), the official practical guide published by the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), is clear on this point. The Convention places no time limit on the effect of an apostille: a validly issued apostille has effect for as long as it is identifiable and remains attached to the underlying public document (para. 28).

In the same paragraph the HCCH states that an apostille may not be rejected solely on the basis of its age. That is because an apostille certifies only the origin of the document — that the signature and seal are genuine — not its content (para. 157). A date several years old on the certificate does not, by itself, end its effect.

So why are you asked for a new one?

Paragraph 26 of the same Handbook explains the other side. Contracting Parties may set time limits on accepting foreign public documents — for example, that the document must be produced within a certain period after it was executed — but those limits cannot be applied to the apostille itself. Paragraph 28 adds that authorities in the destination State may still set time limits on the underlying document under their domestic law or policy.

In short, what gets measured is not the apostille but the original document underneath it. And how many months is acceptable is decided not by the Convention but by whoever receives the document — which is why the standard can differ between institutions even in the same country.

Source: HCCH Apostille Handbook, 2nd ed. (2023), paras. 26, 28 and 157. Time limits for each receiving authority follow its own official guidance.

Which documents tend to run into time limits

The reason for a time limit is usually the same: what the document certifies can change over time. The more a document certifies a current status, the more likely you are to be asked for a recently issued copy.

The typical example is a criminal record certificate. It does not cover anything after its issue date, so receivers want a recent one. Documents whose content can change through marriage or birth, such as the family relation certificate and basic certificate, and documents such as the corporate registration certificate where directors or addresses can change, are often checked for their issue date for the same reason.

By contrast, documents that prove a settled fact, such as a graduation or degree certificate, tend to face fewer time issues. But this too is ultimately the receiver's call, so it is safer to confirm the rule before submitting than to rely on this distinction and send an old document.

Ask the receiver first whether the period is counted from the original document's issue date or from the apostille date. That one answer usually settles whether you need to reissue.

If you need a new one, follow this order

Reissue the original (“for submission”) → notarization (for private documents) → apostille → translation / translation notarization (if the receiver requires it)

When you reissue the original, check its purpose. The Overseas Koreans Agency's apostille guidance notes that for documents issued as either a “view-only” or an “issuance” copy — for example from the Supreme Court Internet Registry Office or Government24 — the view-only copy has no legal effect, so it must be issued “for submission”.

In Korea the issuing agency depends on the document. Public documents created by the State or local governments are apostilled by the Overseas Koreans Agency; documents of the Ministry of Justice and the Prosecution Service, court judgments and notarial documents are apostilled by the Ministry of Justice. The government fee is KRW 1,000 per document, and some public documents can be apostilled online free of charge without a visit (Overseas Koreans Agency official guidance, checked on 1 October 2026).

An apostille is attached to one specific copy of a document, so a newly issued document needs a new apostille. If a translation is also required, it has to match the new document, and where the translation step goes depends on what the receiver requires of the translation.

What about documents issued before the Convention took effect?

We are sometimes asked whether a very old document can still be apostilled. Paragraph 92 of the HCCH Handbook explains that an apostille may be issued for a public document executed before the Convention entered into force for the State of origin, and that the Convention sets no deadline for obtaining an apostille after the document is executed. The Convention entered into force for Korea on 14 July 2007 (Overseas Koreans Agency).

So an old document can still receive an apostille. Whether the receiver will accept it is, as above, a matter of the receiver's own time limit.

How to have an apostille verified

Some receivers are wary of an older apostille. Apostilles issued by Korea can be checked through the Apostille issuance verification menu of the Overseas Koreans Agency's “Overseas Koreans 365” civil service portal, and pointing the receiver to it can help.