Have you ever heard a scary story about someone sending their important papers away for an apostille, only to have them sent back? More people do it than you would believe. Imagine this: Someone finally gets their ideal job abroad, stays up all night gathering every piece of paper, and then—bam! Not accepted. The right paperwork, but the wrong signature. The most common reason people trip over potholes is because they don’t have the right notarization or certification, find for more bonuses here!

Let’s be clear: apostille isn’t magic dust that works on every piece of document you have. There are certain rules for each of your documents, like your birth certificate, marriage certificate, degree, and power of attorney. Don’t think that just any signature or stamp from someone in a suit would do. An apostille simply proves that an official signature is real. But whose signature is real? That’s where folks get confused. For example, the signature of the registrar is normally on state vital records. A random office notary can’t make a birth certificate from the state apostillable. You might as well have thrown that away and wished for it to be true.

Another classic facepalm moment: documents that have been changed. Staples were taken out, pages were lost, or, even worse, mistakes were “fixed” with white-out. Officials don’t forgive mistakes. They want papers that look like they haven’t been touched, with no creative editing. If not, they’ll put you on a merry-go-round of resubmissions.

Then there’s expiration. Imagine paying hundreds of dollars for translation and then finding out that the notary commission has already run out. That much work? Going down the drain. Before giving something for legalization, it’s a good idea to check the dates.

What do you do to remedy it? Check three times who signed the paper. Check to see which officials in your state or country are known for that kind of form. If in doubt, ask the Secretary of State’s office directly, or peep at their website. If the site appears like it was made in 1997, don’t be afraid to call.

It’s hardly rocket science, but it does pay off to be patient and curious. One last piece of advice: make copies of everything you send. If something goes missing—I’m looking at you, postal service—you’ll be glad you had a backup ready. Even experts make mistakes with apostilles. Having foresight saves time, money, and your mind.