MEA extends BLS International’s mandate to provide attestation and apostille services for Indians headed abroad

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India, has renewed its contract with BLS International Services Limited to continue managing Attestation and Apostille services across major Indian cities. The renewed agreement covers centres in Delhi, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Panaji, Kochi, Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur, Patna and Puducherry.

The contract extension allows BLS International to continue processing educational, non-educational and commercial documents that require authentication for overseas use.

What is attestation?

Attestation is the process through which Indian authorities confirm that a document is genuine. Countries outside the Hague Convention require this verification. It is commonly used for educational, personal and commercial documents so they can be legally recognized by foreign governments.

What is an apostille?

An apostille is a single authentication issued by MEA for countries that are part of the Hague Convention. Once apostilled, the document is accepted by all Convention-member nations without further verification. It is used for education, personal and business documents.

“We are profoundly honoured to work with the Ministry of External Affairs in India to deliver unparalleled Attestation and Apostille services across the country. This contract renewal is a testimony to BLS International’s consistent service delivery and its continued commitment to supporting digital services and public-sector needs,” Shikhar Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director at BLS International, said,

The company operates in more than 70 countries and manages visa, citizen and consular services for various governments.