An apostille is a special certificate issued by the government that authenticates a public document for use in another country. It is not a translation. Think of it as an official ‘passport’ for your document. It verifies that the signature of the Massachusetts official on your document—such as a notary public, town clerk, or state registrar—is legitimate.
You need an apostille if you are presenting a U.S. document (like a birth certificate or a notarized power of attorney) to an official body in a foreign country that is a member of the 1961 Hague Convention. It is the internationally recognized standard for document authentication