Apostille Price in India (2026): MEA Fee, Notary, SDM/HRD/CoC Costs

Getting a document apostilled in India can feel pricey and confusing. Quotes from agencies often look far higher than the official MEA fee of ₹50 or ₹90 per document — and it’s not always obvious why.

In short: agencies bundle in Notary and pre-authentication (SDM/HRD/CoC) costs required before MEA will apostille the document, plus handling and logistics. This guide breaks down each component so you can read a quote with confidence.

Not sure which pre-authentication your document needs? See: How to Get an Apostille on a Document in India from Abroad.

The official MEA apostille fee

• MEA government fee: ₹50 or ₹90 per document, depending on the document category.
• This covers only the government’s own apostille-issuance charge — it does not include Notary, SDM/HRD/CoC pre-authentication, agency handling, or courier.

What makes up the rest of a quote

When a quote reads ₹1,000+ per document, it’s usually bundling several steps beyond the MEA fee itself:

These are indicative market ranges

Third-party fees above vary by state, provider, document type, and workload — they’re a general guide, not a quote. We confirm your document’s exact route and give you an all-inclusive, written price before you pay anything.

VerifiedApostille’s own bundle pricing (India, INR)

Each bundle below covers the full chain for that document — Notary/SDM as applicable, plus MEA apostille and return delivery within India — at one clear price. All prices shown are inclusive of GST. Return delivery included above covers India only. International delivery is available on request, quoted separately based on the courier you choose (DHL, UPS, FedEx, India Post, etc.). Prices current as of 2026-08-26.

Book online

For the standard Birth/Marriage Certificate bundle, you can pay and book directly via Razorpay. For every other document, share a scan first and we’ll confirm your route before sending a payment link.

Paying in USD or another foreign currency

If you’re an NRI or overseas client transferring payment in USD (or another foreign currency) rather than INR, most bundles above have a flat $30 MEA handling fee:

The USD rate is not a currency conversion

The flat USD figure is the MEA apostille/attestation handling fee only — it isn’t a dollar conversion of the India-side bundle price above, and it doesn’t cover the same scope. Notary, SDM/HRD/CoC pre-authentication, and return delivery are quoted and billed separately for international orders, based on your document and destination.

How you can pay

• Razorpay (India, INR) — card, UPI, or netbanking checkout for an instant, automatically confirmed payment. Available directly for the standard Birth/Marriage bundle; we send a Razorpay link for other documents once your route is confirmed.
• Bank transfer (India, INR) — if you’d rather pay by NEFT/IMPS than use Razorpay, we share our account details directly. This follows a different, manual confirmation process — we start processing once we’ve reconciled the transfer against your order, which can take a little longer than an instant Razorpay payment.
• International wire transfer (USD / foreign currency) — for NRI and overseas clients paying from outside India. This follows its own procedure, separate from the domestic INR bank transfer above: we send an international wire/SWIFT transfer detail, and any intermediary bank, remittance, or foreign-exchange conversion charges are borne by the payer. See our Fees & Payments terms for the full details.

RBI purpose code is mandatory for wire transfers

Your bank will ask for an RBI purpose code to process an international wire transfer into India — this is a mandatory FEMA reporting field, not optional. For our apostille/attestation handling fee, use:

• P1019 — Other services not included elsewhere
• P0401 — Postal services (if courier/delivery is invoiced as a separate line item)
• P0402 — Courier services (if courier/delivery is invoiced as a separate line item)

We’ll confirm the correct code for your specific invoice before you send the transfer.

Invoicing: Indian clients vs. international clients

Which invoice you receive depends on how — and from where — you’re paying:

• Indian clients paying in INR receive a standard GST tax invoice, with CGST + SGST or IGST charged as applicable under the GST Act, 2017.
• International clients paying in USD or another foreign currency are billed as an export of service under Indian GST provisions — this may be invoiced under a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) where applicable, without payment of integrated tax, per current GST rules.
• Either way, any quotation or proforma invoice we send first is for price confirmation only — it isn’t a Tax Invoice and processing begins once payment is confirmed.

Full legal language: Tax & Export Billing in our Terms.

Why quotes vary

• Document type — personal vs educational vs commercial changes both the route and the price.
• Route — HRD (education), SDM/Home (personal), or CoC (commercial) each carry different charges and timelines.
• Original vs copy — an e-Apostille on a scan can reduce logistics cost; a Regular Stamp apostille on an original needs physical shipping. See: Original vs Copy — What’s the Difference?
• City & urgency — local office workloads and courier distance matter.
• Number of documents — bundling multiple documents in one order often reduces the per-document logistics cost.

Is e-Apostille (QR) cheaper?

The MEA government fee is identical whether you choose a Regular Stamp apostille or an e-Apostille (QR) — the QR code is an added feature on the same regular stamp apostille, not a separate government product. What e-Apostille can save is logistics, since some documents qualify for apostille from a clear scan rather than needing the physical original shipped both ways.

Not every document qualifies, though — see e-Apostille (QR) & e-Sanad Verification — How It Works for which document types and states are currently eligible.

Can I pay only the MEA fee?

Only if your case genuinely needs no pre-authentication step — rare in practice. Most real-world documents still require Notary and, depending on category, SDM, HRD, or CoC before MEA will accept them for apostille. We review your document and destination checklist first, so you’re never quoted for a route you don’t actually need.

Get your exact price

Third-party ranges are useful for budgeting, but the number that matters is the one for your document, route, and destination. Share a scan with us and we’ll confirm the exact steps required and send a single, all-inclusive, written quote before you pay anything.

Want a one-line figure for your case?

Send us your document type and destination on WhatsApp from Contact — we’ll reply with the exact route, price, and ETA.