Your nonprofit’s foreign subsidiary or country branch office just lost its authorized bank signatory with a local transition of management or the board. The local bank won’t release funds to the new signatory until it sees a board resolution — apostilled. Your finance team scrambles, the bank puts a hold on the account, and a grant payment that was supposed to go out this week doesn’t.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. This is one of the most common bottlenecks for U.S. nonprofits operating abroad, and one of the most avoidable.
What an Apostille Actually Does
An apostille is a certificate that authenticates a U.S. document for use in another country. It confirms that a signature, seal, or stamp is genuine and that the person or office signing had the authority to do so. It does not verify that the contents of the document are true.
