E-Sanad portal

E-Sanad is a project aimed at online submission/verification of documents with an ultimate object to extend contact less, cashless, faceless and paperless document attestation service for apostille and normal attestation to applicants in India (to be extended to applicants abroad in a phased manner).

Services offered

1. Online verification of documents - Any type of document viz personal, educational or commercial can be authenticated/apostilled using e-Sanad. The document should be available in the digital repository for getting attestation/apostille through e-Sanad.
2. e-Register
3. Track your application status.

Users need to register in the e-Sanad portal for accessing these services.

E-Sanad is currently operational in five passport offices and in Attestation Section, CPV Division, Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi. With further decentralization of attestation related work to other locations, it is going to be extended to entire country very soon.

To begin with, the e-Sanad, will start with CBSE depository (for years 2014 & onwards) and verification of the CBSE documents would be done online. It is also integrated with the NAD – National Academic Depository.

As regards its implementation/integration with States/UTs, it is being integrated with the General Administration (NRI) Department of the Government of Telangana as a pilot project.

Process followed

Any type of document viz personal, educational or commercial can be authenticated/apostilled using e-Sanad. The document should be available in the digital repository for getting attestation/apostille through e-Sanad. The digital documents to be verified are to be made available (uploaded) in a digital repository. After verification of documents by the Document Issuing Authorities (DIAs), the digital copy of the documents will be attested/apostilled by the Ministry of External Affairs and this copy will then be despatched to respective applicants by speed post.

Apostille and its need

An Apostille is a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document (e.g., a birth, marriage or death certificate, a judgment, an extract of a register or a notarial attestation). Apostilles can only be issued for documents issued in one country party to the Apostille Convention and that are to be used in another country which is also a party to the Convention.

You will need an Apostille if all of the following apply:

• The country where the document was issued is party to the Apostille Convention; and
• The country in which the document is to be used is party to the Apostille Convention; and
• The law of the country where the document was issued considers it to be a public document; and
• The country in which the document is to be used requires an Apostille in order to recognise it as a foreign public document.

An Apostille may never be used for the recognition of a document in the country where that document was issued. Apostilles are strictly for the use of public documents abroad.

An Apostille may not be required if the laws, regulations, or practice in force in the country where the public document is to be used have abolished or simplified the requirement of an Apostille, or have exempted the document from any legalisation requirement. Such simplification or exemption may also result from a treaty or other agreement that is in force between the country where the public document is to be used and the country that issued it (e.g., some other Hague Conventions exempt documents from legalisation or any analogous formality, including an Apostille).

If you have any doubts, you should ask the intended recipient of your document whether an Apostille is necessary in your particular case.

Fees payable

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) : A fee of Rs. 50/- is payable for Apostille of each document. (W.e.f 21 December 2016, payment by means of postal orders has been discontinued.) Normal Attestation is done free of cost.

Outsourced agencies: As the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is not accepting documents directly from the applicant/individual, all documents for the purpose of Attestation/ Apostille by MEA are to be submitted and collected from the four designated outsourced agencies. The fee chargeable by the outsourced agencies per document for its collection and delivery for Apostille/normal attestation by MEA will be Rs.22/- (Personal document), Rs.18/- (Educational document) and Rs.16/- (Commercial document).

Source : e-Sanad portal