If the country in which the document is to be used is a party to the Hague Convention of 1961, an apostille is required. Otherwise, consular legalization shall apply.

In any case, the most important source of reliable information is the organization to which the legalized document is to be submitted, since even within the same state, different authorities may impose different requirements for the legalization of foreign documents. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the requirements regarding the type of legalization with the authority to which the legalized document will be submitted.

The ‘apostille’ stamp (sometimes referred to as ‘simplified legalization’ or simply ‘apostille’) is applied to documents intended for use in countries that are parties to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, which abolished the requirement of consular legalization and introduced the simplified procedure of legalization by means of the apostille. 

This procedure is referred to as ‘simplified’ because, on the one hand, apostillization is carried out relatively quickly and by a single competent authority, and on the other hand, the document acquires legal effect in the territory of all the states that are parties to the Hague Convention. If the country in which the document is to be used is not a party to the Hague Convention, consular legalization is required. This is a more complex procedure, which involves the authentication of the document by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, followed by its authentication at the consulate of the destination country in the Republic of Kazakhstan. In this case, the document will have legal force only in the territory of the country whose consulate has affixed its authentication. 

In addition, the choice of the legalization procedure may depend on the type of document, as there are certain categories of documents that are not subject to either consular legalization or apostille. This primarily applies to commercial and customs documents, such as contracts, invoices, bills of lading, various title documents, and other papers related to foreign economic activity. For such documents, a separate procedure applies — legalization through the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan (currently part of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan ‘Atameken’), followed by legalization at the consulate of the destination country.

In addition, documents issued by the diplomatic or consular offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan are not subject to apostille certification. 

According to the Hague Convention of 1961, the apostille must be in the form of a square with sides measuring at least 9 cm and must conform to the model annexed to the Convention.

• Name of the state that issued the apostille
• Surname of the person who signed the document certified by the apostille
• Position of the person who signed the document certified by the apostille
• Name of the institution whose seal/stamp is affixed to the document certified by the apostille
• Name of the city where the apostille is affixed
• Date of apostille affixing
• Name of the authority that affixed the apostille
• Apostille number
• Seal/stamp of the institution that affixed the apostille
• Signature of the official who affixed the apostille

The apostille can be drawn up either in one of the official languages of the Convention (French or English), or in the national language of the state that affixed the apostille. In practice, the inscriptions on the apostille are often duplicated in two languages (one of the languages of the Convention and the national one).

The title "Apostille (Convention de la Haye du 5 octobre 1961)" should be given in French.

According to the Convention, the apostille shall be placed either on the document itself or on a separate sheet attached to the document.

In practice, different states use different methods of affixing apostilles: rubber stamps, glue, (multicolored) ribbons, sealing wax, embossed printing, self-adhesive stickers, etc., as well as attachments to the document made using glue, fastening rings, paper clips, etc.