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Introduction: 

Document attestation, or legalisation stands as a crucial process, acting as the gateway for the international acceptance of certificates and legal documents.  Let's explore the layers of attestation, starting from the regional level and progressing to the Embassy attestation. 

Regional Level:

•  At the regional level, documents undergo verification by local authorities like notary publics, gazetted officers, or executive magistrates. This initial step ensures the document's authenticity and legality within the region. 

State Government: 

Following regional attestation, documents proceed to the state level for further validation. In India, different states have distinct procedures and departments for attestation, contributing to an additional layer of authentication:

• State Home Department (SHD): SHD typically handles attestation for personal documents, reinforcing the credibility of personal information.
• Human Resource Department (HRD): Educational documents undergo scrutiny here, ensuring academic credentials are validated for international use.
• General Administration Department (GAD): In certain states, GAD may handle attestation for both personal and educational documents, streamlining the process for government-related affairs.
• Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in Delhi: In Delhi, the SDM serves as a central authority for attesting both personal and educational documents on behalf of all states, ensuring uniformity and efficiency in the attestation process.
• Chamber of Commerce (CoC):The Chamber of Commerce attests commercial documents such as invoices, certificates of origin, and other business-related papers to validate their authenticity for international trade and business transactions. 

 MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) Attestation: 

•  After state-level attestation, documents proceed to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for validation. MEA attestation confirms the document's authenticity at the national level, a crucial step for documents intended for international use. 

Embassy Attestation:

•  The final stage involves embassy attestation, where the document is presented to the embassy or consulate of the destination country in India. The embassy verifies the document's authenticity and certifies it, ensuring its legal acceptance in the destination country. 

MOFA Attestation:

•  Finally, after embassy attestation, if required by the destination country, the document may need to undergo further attestation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of that country. MOFA attestation further validates the document's authenticity according to the regulations of the destination country.