GOOD NEWS FOR INDIAN CITIZENS SEEKING DOCUMENT ATTESTATION AND APOSTILLE SERVICES- NOW THROUGH ONLINE THROUGH E-SANAD PORTAL

 GOOD NEWS FOR INDIAN CITIZENS SEEKING DOCUMENT ATTESTATION AND APOSTILLE SERVICES- NOW THROUGH ONLINE THROUGH E-SANAD PORTAL 

WHAT IS E-SANAD? 

• e-Sanad is an initiative of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India.  

• It provides a centralised platform for contactless, faceless, cashless and paperless document verification, attestation, or apostille.It works for Indians and foreigners who hold documents issued by Indian Document Issuing Authorities (DIAs). 

WHAT DOCUMENTS ARE COVERED 

• Types of documents: Educational, personal, commercial. 

• But there is an important condition: the document must be available in a digital repository or digital depository, such as the National Academic Depository (NAD) or other DIAs who have been integrated.  

• If the document isn’t in a digital repository, the traditional attestation/apostille route still applies. 

WHO CAN USE IT? 

• Indian citizens, for documents issued by Indian authorities.  

• Foreigners who have documents issued from Indian DIAs 

FEES 

• For Apostille via e-Sanad: Rs. 90 per document when non-pre-verified (in many states/DIAs).  

• For Attestation (non-apostille normal attestation): Rs. 40 per document. 

• Universities or DIAs may have their own verification fees before you submit to e-Sanad. 

ADVANTAGES OF USING E-SANAD 

• No need to physically visit many offices. Contactless + paperless.  

• Quicker processing especially for documents in digital repositories. 

• Transparent process: status tracking with ARN, email/SMS updates etc. 

POSSIBLE DISADVANTAGES 

• If the issuing authority doesn’t have a digital depository or if your document is not in such repository, the process will require extra steps.  

• Scanning / document quality must meet the portal’s standards; poor scans may get rejected. 

• The final attested / apostilled document is sent physically (speed post) — so there is still a physical part.  

• Some delays possibly depending on issuance authority, especially for verification. 

FOREIGN DIRECTOR DIN VERIFICATION  

Foreign director document verification for an Indian company typically requires the foreign director's passport, a notarized and apostilled address proof. Whether a foreign director can use the E-SANAD service for this purpose is yet to be notified. 

 

R V SECKAR, FCS, LLB 79047 19295