The Hague Conventions are not one treaty with one country list. The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) administers more than 40 separate treaties, and each has its own roster of contracting parties. Membership in the Hague Convention countries you care about depends entirely on which convention you mean: the 1961 Apostille Convention has 129 parties, while the newer 2019 Judgments Convention has only a handful of ratifications so far. A country in one treaty is not automatically in another.
Below are the membership counts and major participants for each of the widely used HCCH conventions, followed by how to check the current status for the treaty you need.
1961 Apostille Convention
The Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents has 129 contracting parties, making it the most widely adopted HCCH treaty.1Hague Conference on Private International Law. Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents It replaces the older multi-step chain of government and consular authentications with a single certificate, the apostille, issued by a designated authority in the country where the document originated.
The membership list covers most of the Western Hemisphere, Europe, and large parts of Asia and Oceania. Major participants include the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa.1Hague Conference on Private International Law. Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents Nearly every European Union member state participates, along with many Caribbean and Pacific island nations.
Notable countries that have not joined include the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Ethiopia, and most of sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa. If your document is heading to one of these places, you will need full consular legalization instead of an apostille.
Electronic Apostille Registers
Roughly 60 jurisdictions maintain e-Registers as of 2025, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, China, France, India, South Korea, Mexico, and Spain.2HCCH. e-Registers These let a receiving party verify an apostille online, sometimes through a QR code printed on the certificate and sometimes through a searchable database.
1965 Service Convention
The Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents has 84 contracting parties.3HCCH. Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters It governs how a lawsuit summons, subpoena, or similar legal paper gets formally delivered to someone in another country.
Participating nations include the United States, Canada, China, Australia, Brazil, and most of Western Europe, including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.3HCCH. Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters Each country designates a Central Authority that receives service requests from abroad and arranges local delivery. If your defendant is in a non-member country, service typically has to go through letters rogatory over diplomatic channels, which takes considerably longer.
1970 Evidence Convention
The Convention of 18 March 1970 on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters has 69 contracting parties.4HCCH. Convention of 18 March 1970 on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters It provides a standardized way for courts in one country to request evidence located in another, whether that means deposing a witness, obtaining records, or inspecting property.
Major parties include the United States, China, France, Germany, Australia, Argentina, and Brazil. More recent additions include Georgia, El Salvador, and Bahrain.4HCCH. Convention of 18 March 1970 on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters
1980 Child Abduction Convention
The Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction has 103 contracting parties.5Hague Conference on Private International Law. Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction The treaty gives parents a legal mechanism for the prompt return of children wrongfully taken across international borders. Its core principle is that custody disputes should be decided by courts in the country where the child normally lives.6HCCH. Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
Participating countries span every continent. The United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand are all parties, along with most of Europe, including France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Argentina, Brazil, Israel, Turkey, and South Africa also participate.5Hague Conference on Private International Law. Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
In the United States, the Office of Children’s Issues within the Department of State serves as the Central Authority. It helps parents file Hague applications, works to locate abducted children, and coordinates with foreign Central Authorities to arrange returns. Parents facing an imminent abduction can reach that office at 1-888-407-4747.7U.S. Department of State. International Parental Child Abduction When a child is taken to a non-member country, options narrow to diplomatic channels and the foreign country’s domestic courts.
1993 Intercountry Adoption Convention
The Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption has 107 contracting parties.8HCCH. Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption It sets safeguards, including home studies, matching procedures, and oversight by Central Authorities in both the sending and receiving countries, to prevent trafficking, abduction, and the sale of children.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Manual – Purpose and Background
The United States, Colombia, Peru, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Vietnam, and Thailand are among the parties. Many European nations participate primarily as receiving countries. African parties include Burundi and Madagascar.
One important caveat: formal membership does not mean intercountry adoptions from a country are currently active. China remains a party but announced in 2024 that it was ending most foreign adoptions of Chinese children, with narrow exceptions for blood relatives. Before starting an international adoption, verify the current status directly with both countries’ Central Authorities.
2005 Choice of Court and 2019 Judgments Conventions
Two newer treaties address cross-border commercial disputes. The Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements has 39 contracting parties, including the United States, the European Union (binding its member states), the United Kingdom, China, Singapore, Israel, and Mexico.10HCCH. Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements It requires member countries to respect a contract clause designating a specific country’s courts and to enforce the resulting judgment.
The Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters is still early. Thirty-three states and organizations are listed as contracting parties, but only a handful have ratified so far, including Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. Albania’s and Montenegro’s ratifications take effect in 2026.11HCCH. Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters
HCCH Membership Is Separate From Treaty Membership
A country can join a specific convention without being an HCCH member, and an HCCH member is not automatically party to every convention. The organization has 93 members: 92 sovereign states and the European Union as a Regional Economic Integration Organisation.12HCCH. Members and Parties Members include the United States, China, Russia, and nearly every European country, along with Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.13HCCH. About HCCH Over 150 nations worldwide are connected to at least one HCCH instrument, even if they are not formal members.
How to Check Whether a Country Participates
The HCCH maintains a status table for each convention at hcch.net. Each table lists every contracting party, the date the country joined, and whether the convention has entered into force for that country. That last detail matters: a country can sign or accede to a convention before it takes effect there, and you cannot rely on the treaty until the entry-into-force date has passed.
Each status table also links to the designated competent authorities or Central Authorities for that country, so you can find exactly which office handles apostilles, service requests, evidence requests, child abduction applications, or adoption oversight. Membership changes throughout the year as new countries join, so the status table is the current source.