TYPES OF DOCUMENTS
Certificate of Origin
You will need a Certificate of Origin Apostilled if you will be exporting products from the United States of America to a foreign country and have been asked to certify and legalize your documents through the Chamber of Commerce and the Embassy Office. Many Hague Countries request this certification including Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Vietnam, and Yemen.
A Certificate of Origin is one of the primary certifcation documents used in international trade. It is completed by the exporter and certified by an issuing agency such as the local Chamber of Commerce, State or Federal Government, or company representative. The issuing agency certifies that the goods contained in an export shipment have been manufactured, produced, and/or processed in a specified country of origin. The origin of the goods does not certify the country where the products were exported from but to certify the country of origin where the goods were made. When goods originate from multiple countries, the Certificate of Origin is obtained from the country where the last substantial economic process has taken place.
Most countries require a Certificate of Origin along with a Commercial Invoice. Please note, that altough Commercial Invoices should have a statement of origin, most countries will require require a separate Certificate of Origin for validating origin. Nations that participate in the Free Trade Agreement might have preferential exceptions, whereby a specific Certificate of Origin exist.
Before the Certificate of Origin can receive the State Apostille, it must be:
- Signed by the exporter (the business sending the goods out of the country). The business within the country receiving the goods is called the importer.
- Notarized - The signer of the document must physically appear before a Notary Public.
- Validated - By a local agency (Chamber of Commerce or Department of Commerce). One of the requirements of the validating agency is to present both the Certificate of Origin and the Commercial Invoice.
There are essentially two types of Certificate of Origins that a Chamber of Commerce can issue:
- Non-Preferential - certifies that the goods are subject to no preferential treatment. These are the main type of Certificate of Origins that the Chamber of Commerce can issue.
- Preferential - certifies that the good are subject to reduced tariffs or exemptions when they are exported to countries extending these priviledges. These Certificate of Origins tend to be closely associated with Regional Trade Agreements.
Please Note - if the foreign importing country's language is not English, then a Certified Translation will need to be obtained.
Once the original English Certificate of Origin is properly prepared you can mail it to us to be Apostilled. We can also provide Certified Translation Services into the language required by the Country of Designation.
Here at Ezra Notary and Apostille,