At Boston Notary Service we handle the Boston Apostille Service for you at the Secretary of State's Office in Massachusetts as well as Nationwide Apostille Service And Authentication: 

Not only are we equipped with Mobile Notary Public's to assist you with your notarizing needs. We also handle the running of Authentication of your documents and make the process simple. 

So what is the difference of Apostille and Authentication?

Since The United States is part of the 1961 Hague Convention that abolished the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. The Convention provides for the simplified certification of public (including notarized) documents to be used in countries that have joined the convention. Under the Hague Convention, signatory countries have agreed to recognize public documents issued by other signatory countries if those public documents are authenticated by the attachment of an internationally recognized form of authentication known as an "apostille." The apostille ensures that public documents issued in one signatory country will be recognized as valid in another signatory country.

In Authentication, Countries that are not part of the Hague Convention may require that your documents undergo an additional step for obtaining an "authentication". The authentication validates the document for use in the foreign country.

If further verification of your documents are required (legalization) the "Legalization" usually takes place at the U.S. Consulate or Embassy of the destination country. 

Always check with your documents final country destination rules or seek legal opinion if you are unsure about the steps.