How to get an Employment Verification Apostille

An employment verification letter sometimes called the employer salary verification letter, is a document that confirms a person’s employment status. It’s often requested for different purposes, such as immigration processes, loan applications, apartment rentals, and so on.

 

If you’re using this document overseas, one big question is this: how can you apostille this formal document?

 

In this post, we will provide you with a brief guide and steps on how to legalize your proof of income employer letter.

 

What is an employee salary verification letter?

An employee salary verification letter, or employment verification, is mainly requested to establish a person’s proof of income. It’s sometimes referred to as a salary verification letter, work verification letter, or proof of employment letter. Whatever it’s called, they are one and the same.

 

In general, this document should be printed on the company’s official letterhead document with employment confirmation. It should also be signed by the company’s authorized representative, usually the HR manager.

 

Aside from that, the document should state the person’s full name, job title, dates of employment, and employment status. It should also clearly indicate the employee’s salary, responsibilities, and the company representative’s contact information.

 

Take note that this document should have complete information to avoid being rejected during the apostille process.

 

How to apostille an employment verification letter

Getting an apostille for your employment verification letter is almost the same as any other legal document. Here are the steps to this process:

 

Step 1. Prepare the document

Make sure you get an official letterhead document with employment confirmation from your company. You should also review if there is any missing or inaccurate information before proceeding with the next steps.

 

You can always request corrections from your company’s HR department.

 

Step 2. Notarize the document

Next, you need to get a notarized employment letter. You can meet with a local notary public to certify the authenticity of the signature on the document.

 

Step 3. Translate, if needed

If the destination country of the document doesn’t recognize English as one of their official languages, you’ll need to hire document translation service in LA.

 

The same goes if your notarized letter of employment is in a different language and needs to be professionally translated into English.

 

Take note that the certified translation may need to be notarized as well.

 

Step 4. Submit for apostillation

Once you have all the requirements ready, the next step is to submit your documents to the Secretary of State. This should be accompanied by a filled-out request form.

 

Aside from that, you need to pay the service fee of $20 per apostille. It can be paid through credit card, cash, check, or money order. An extra $6 handling fee is also required for the officials’ signature to be authenticated.

 

Step 5. Receive your legalized document

Normal processing of an apostille request may take up to two weeks, aside from the mailing time.

 

If you need to get your employment verification letter legalized faster, you can hire apostille services in Los Angeles instead. They can get your document apostille on the same day or the next day for a fee.

 

What if the destination country isn’t part of The Hague Convention?

If you’re using your employment verification letter in a country that’s a member of The Hague Convention of 1961, then you need to secure an apostille.

 

However, countries like Cambodia, Egypt, and Taiwan are non-apostille nations. Since they are not part of The Hague Convention, you’ll need to secure consular legalization in place of an apostille.

 

Unlike apostilles, consular legalization needs additional steps. After you’ve got your document notarized and translated, you need to submit it to the Department of State or at the embassy and local consulate in your area.

 

Additional reminders

To make sure that you’ll receive your apostilled employment verification letter without the hassle, you should keep the following in mind:

 

• Only submit certified copies. Photocopied documents are not accepted for apostillation. Instead, you need to get a special or original copy from your HR department and have it certified by a lawyer or notary public.

 

• Double-check the information. Before you start the apostille process, make sure that all the information on the letter is correct. Otherwise, you may waste your time and money apostilling a document with errors.

 

• Request an apostille early. If you’re going the DIY route, make sure you send a request as far in advance as possible. Apostilles may take time to secure, and you don’t want to be that person who rushes everything at the last minute.

 

• Follow up with your request. The State Department gets a ton of apostille requests at any given day. Make sure you follow up on your request after a few times to make sure that it’s right on track.

 

Conclusion

An employment verification letter is an important piece of document, which can be the only thing standing between you and a loan approval or other purposes. Make sure you’ll get your needed legalization or authentication on time by following the steps we discussed above. Or better yet, you can hire an apostille service to do it for you quickly.