1. The Convention’s own definition
The Convention does not define public document positively.
It lists four categories.
2. The four categories
Documents emanating from an authority
A court, a tribunal, or an administrative authority of the state.
Administrative documents
Certificates, registrations and permits.
Notarial acts
Documents authenticated by a notary.
Official certificates on documents
Certificates of registration, of the fact that a document existed on a certain date, and official and notarial authentications of signatures.
3. The commercial document question
An invoice or a certificate of origin is a private commercial document.
The Convention does not apply to private documents by itself.
4. How a commercial document becomes public
Through notarisation. The notary’s act is a public act, and it can be apostilled.
So the chain becomes:
The invoice is notarised. The notarial certificate is apostilled.
5. The practical consequence
An exporter who asks for an invoice to be apostilled is asking for the notarial certificate to be apostilled.
That distinction matters for timing, because notarisation comes first.
6. The exceptions to note
The Convention does not apply to documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents.
Some parties have made declarations excluding particular document types.
7. Closing view
The public-document question is answered by the notary step.
Without it, there is nothing for the apostille to attach to.
*This article is based on the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961.*