There are numerous reasons why you may need to present your Birth Certificate in a foreign country. Birth Certificate is required when you are getting married aborad, when you are adopting a child, receiving an inheritance, etc. Only certified copies of Birth Certificates are accepted for legalization. Certified copies of Birth Certificate are official copies issued by Vital Records Departments on the state or county level. An Apostille confirms that the signature of the Vital Records official is a true signature of this person.
 

What is an Apostille?

This is the documentary device by which a government department, usually the State Department, Justice Ministry or Foreign Ministry, authenticates a document as genuine, thereby legalizing it for use in another member country under the terms laid out in 1961.

Once a document has been Apostilled, thereby providing official government authentication of the signatures and stamps appearing on it, it is automatically deemed legalised for use in another member country.