
Apostille and attestation both legalise Indian documents for use abroad, but they apply to different sets of countries and follow different processes.
An Apostille is a single certification issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, recognised by all 120+ Hague Apostille Convention member countries — including most of Europe, the UK and the Americas.
Attestation is a multi-step process (notary → state HRD/Home Department → MEA → destination embassy) required for non-Hague countries, most notably the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf nations.
