The Federal Law establishes legal and organisational foundations for placing an apostille (a stamp stipulated by the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents of October 5, 1961, set by the competent authorities on an official Russian document or an individual list attached to that document and certifying the authenticity of the signature and title of the individual signing the document, and where appropriate, the authenticity of the seal or stamp used to attach that document) on Russian official documents subject to use outside of the Russian Federation.
The Federal Law defines the competent authorities with the power to issue an apostille and documents viewed as official Russian documents, as well as establishing the duration for the apostille, the rules of order and the content of the apostille register.