PANAJI
The Goa government has notified a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for pre-authentication of personal, commercial and educational documents that are to be used abroad. The SOP streamlines the process before such documents are submitted to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for Apostille or Attestation.
According to a notification issued by the Home Department, the Regional Passport Office (RPO), Goa, has been authorised by the MEA to issue Apostille certificates for public documents in the State. As India is a signatory to the Hague Apostille Convention, 1961, documents carrying an Apostille certificate do not require further legalisation in other member countries.
The government said the MEA requires all documents submitted for Apostille or Attestation to first be pre-authenticated by designated Document Issuing Authorities (DIAs) in the respective State or Union Territory to establish their authenticity.
In Goa, the Director of Education has been designated as the DIA for educational documents up to the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) level. The Director of Technical Education will authenticate documents issued by professional colleges and technical institutions affiliated with Goa University or the Goa Board of Technical Education. The Director of Higher Education will handle educational documents issued by other colleges and institutions affiliated with Goa University.
Documents issued by institutions under the Directorate of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship will be authenticated by the Director of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, while the Under Secretary (Home-II) has been designated as the DIA for all personal and commercial documents.
Under the SOP, the signatures of all authorities or officers authorised to issue such documents must be registered with the respective DIA by the concerned head of department or office. The registration must include details of the categories of documents each officer is authorised to issue. The DIA will verify and attest the signature of the issuing authority when a document is submitted for pre-authentication.
The notification also makes it mandatory for Notaries appointed under the Notaries Act, 1952, to register their signatures with the relevant DIA. The authorities will pre-authenticate only those documents that a notary is legally authorised to execute, including affidavits, declarations, agreements and powers of attorney.
For canonical documents signed by the notary based at the Paço Patriarcal, Archbishop’s House, Altinho, Panaji, the DIA will attest the notary’s signature, provided it has been registered with the authority.
The SOP states that, wherever possible, only original documents or certified copies issued by government authorities will be pre-authenticated. In exceptional cases where certified copies are not available, the DIA may inspect the original document and pre-authenticate a photocopy.
After pre-authentication by the designated authority, applicants may submit their documents to the MEA’s outsourced service providers in Goa for the issuance of an Apostille certificate or MEA Attestation.
