Great news for anyone moving to, studying in, or doing business with Vietnam: consular/embassy legalization is no longer required for international documents.

As of September 11, 2026, Vietnam has joined the Hague Convention for Apostille. This means that an apostilled document will be accepted as “official” by the Vietnamese government without any additional legalization.

Formerly, documents apostilled in Arizona had to go through extra legalization at the Los Angeles Consulate, and federal documents (such as an FBI background check) had to be legalized at the Vietnam Embassy in Washington, DC. This added significant time and expense to authentication orders.

Because this change is new, we recommend confirming with the receiving party in Vietnam that they are aware of the change and will accept a simple apostille.

Need help with getting an apostille on a document for use in Vietnam or another country? Call +1 (520) 200-1424 or email laurel@notaryatoz.com.