All original documents requiring Attestation by the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi, are required to be first authenticated/attested by the designated authorities/departments of the State Governments/Union Territory from where the documents were issued. MEA Attestation can only be done after the respective relevant state authority has attested a particular document.

Procedure to get MEA Attestation :-
Step 1: Authentication of documents
Non-Educational Documents:
The documents (like birth or death certificates, marriage certificates, affidavits, driving licenses, etc.
Are required to be first attested by the State Home Department of the issuing State/Union Territory.

Educational Documents:
The documents should be first attested by the State Education Department of the concerned State Government/Union Territory. The authentication must be done with the name and designation seal as well as the seal of the Department.

Commercial Documents:
The documents are to be pre-authenticated by the respective Chambers of Commerce before these can be attested by the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi. The rubber stamp of the respective Chamber of Commerce must be affixed on each document along with the name & designation of authorized signatory.

Step 2: Attestation/Legalization of documents by MEA
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) attests /legalizes the documents only after these have been authenticated with the signature and seal/stamp of the designated authorities of the State Government/Union Territory/Chambers of Commerce from where the documents have been issued. The MEA legalizes the certificate/documents on the basis of the signature of the designated authorities; hence it does not take responsibility of the contents of the documents.