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Avoiding mistakes
The costly mistakes — and how to avoid them. Rejected documents, fake apostilles, and DIY shortcuts that fail at the border. These guides show you how to spot a counterfeit, why apostilles get bounced, and the reliable path that gets a document accepted the first time.
- How to spot a fake apostille (and verify a real one)A genuine apostille has 10 standardized Hague fields and a verifiable number. Learn how to spot a fake apostille, verify one online, and what to do next.
- Why apostilles get rejected (and how to fix it)The document-level reasons an apostille gets rejected — wrong authority, ineligible documents, recency limits, translation problems — and the fix for each.
- DIY Apostille Mistakes — and When to Use a ProThe process errors that sink a DIY apostille — the county clerk step, wrong authority, and translating out of order — plus when a pro is truly worth it.