Copyright © 1998 by Cynthia Teeters. All rights reserved. 

[The below information is a generalized description of the types of documents and legalization of these documents needed for Americans wishing to adopt from Russia. Differences may exist for different regions within Eastern Europe, different adoption agencies and different US states. Please refer also to the specific instructions provided by your adoption agency and the state regulations pertaining to document legalization in the states where such documents originated.]

A dossier is a collection of documents to be presented to the Russian government in support of a petition to adopt. Typically the dossier will contain the following documents:

All original documents must have their signatures notarized and all notarized and certified documents must have an apostille. An apostille of a document is a simplified authentication issued by the Secretary of State of the state in which the document originated. It is a cover sheet attached to a document to be used in any country that has signed the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961.) With an apostille, the document is entitled to recognition in the country of intended use. Without an apostille, most documents require further authentication by the embassy or consulate of the foreign country where the document is to be used. Authentications are often ca lled legalizations or certifications.

The essence of an apostille is an official statement from the Secretary of State that an office-holder held a particular office at a particular time. It makes no attempt to certify the veracity of the contents of the referenced document. In order to be able to issue an apostille, the Secretary of State office keeps on file the qualification document for the particular official. Such officials may include notaries public, high level appointees such as Commissioners, members of boards and commissions, dedimus justices, legislators, Constitutional Officers, and certain county-level offices. This list may vary by state. When requesting an apostille from the Secretary of State it is important to use the word "Apostille" and the name of the country for which the document is intended. Other forms of authentication provided by the Secretary of State may not be accepted by the Russian government.

For a document to be notarized it must contain the following:

• Complete text. There should be no blanks where information is meant to be included. If a field in a document is intended to be left unfilled, the words "Not Applicable" should be added.
• Original signature. Typically, the signer will sign in the presence of the notary. For affidavits the notary may require this.
• Notarial wording.

The typical document for which a prospective adopter will request an apostille will be an affidavit, an acknowledgment, or a copy certification signed in the presence of a notary public. It is then signed and stamped by the notary public.

An affidavit is also known as a jurat and is a declaration or statement of facts. The signer must appear before the notary, sign the document in front of the notary and take an oath or affirmation. A typical oath would be, "Do you affirm that the statements in this document are true?" The typical notarial wording would be, "Subs cribed and sworn to before me this ________ day of ___________, 19___ by (________________)." An example of an affidavit in the above list of dossier documents is the statement of employment.

An acknowledgment means the signer of the document personally appeared before the notary and acknowledged having signed the document for its stated purpose. Often the purpose of the acknowledgment is for the signer to recognize the existence of an agreement and that the agreement shall be binding. An example of an acknowledgment in the above list of dossier documents is the statement of the intention to adopt.

Often, an original document can not be supplied. In this case a certified (or true) copy can be obtained. The person presenting the document should make a photocopy and prepare a written statement, that may be attached to or written on the photocopy itself, stating that it is a true copy of the original. The person brings both the original and photocopy and signs the statement in the not ary's presence. His signature is then notarized. An example of a certified copy is the photocopy of the first two pages of one's passport.

There are some documents that a notary may refuse to have certified copies produced. These are, US naturalization certificates, recordable documents such as deeds, and vital records such as birth certificates and death certificates.

The notary is required by state law to verify the identity of the signer of the document. If the signer is not personally known to the notary, one or more means of photo identification may be requested. Typically, a passport will be accepted for the purpose of identification.

If a document does not come with notarial wording, the notary may refuse to notarize the document or request the signer to know what type of notarial wording the document requires. If the signer does not know, he may be required to request from the issuing agency what type of notarization is needed. The notary is required by law to scree n the document to verify that the form and contents of the document do not violate state statutes concerning notarization. For this reason, the notary may refuse to notarize documents in or containing a foreign language. The notary may

• refer the signer to a foreign consulate,
• notarize an English translation only, or
• refer the signer to a bilingual notary.

In many states a notarized document will have to be certified by the county clerk before it is presented to the office of the Secretary of State. A certification typically is a cover sheet, which is attached to the document, certifying that the notary public is on the county's registry. In some states the notary public is registered at the state level and the supplementary certification is unnecessary. Copies of vital records produced by the county clerk are considered to be certified.

The common defects that may invalidate a notarized document are:

• the lack of a date on the notarization,
• the notary seal is missing or imperfect,
• the signature is missing or imperfect,
• notarial wording is inappropriate, or
• notary's commission is expired or has not been properly registered.

Once the dossier is complete it must be translated into Russian. This may be done either in the US or in Russia and, typically, the translator's affidavit that he/she is competent to translate from English to Russian is notarized. At this point the dossier is complete and may be submitted by the adoption agency in support of an adoption petition.