In order to register a US birth or marriage, or to apply for a citizenship, your birth certificate or marriage certificate will need to be accompanied by an Apostille. That will allow your US documents to be used and recognized in a foreign country or embassy/consulate. The Apostille is a special form of certificate authentication that verifies the signature and seal of a public official on a state-issued document, as well as the capacity in which it was executed. Countries that are members of the 1961 Hague Convention Treaty will recognize Apostilles for foreign documents. Documents issued at the federal level need to be authenticated by a higher authority, such as at the US Department of State or consulate.
Examples of state and local documents include: birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, divorce decrees, school diplomas, court judgments, adoption documents, other documents issued by a public authority or notarized by a state notary.
In most cases, you will need to mail the following to a state agency authorized to authenticate documents, which is typically the Secretary of State (or Lieutenant Governor or their counterpart):
- fill out a downloadable application form from the website of a state agency authorized to issue Apostilles for the state where your document was issued
- enclose the original document to be apostilled (a certified original copy; photocopies will not be accepted)
- a self-addressed stamped envelope with your name and address listed as both sender and recipient
- payment
You can obtain an Apostille in-person or by mail. Some Secretary of State Offices have suspended all in-person services until further notice in an effort to protect employees and customers from the spread of COVID-19 and accept mail-in applications only.
The filing fee is anywhere between $1 and $25, depending on the state you live in. Cash is accepted for in-person filings only. While only some states accept credit cards, they all accept payments by check or money order. We recommend contacting the Secretary of State website directly for specific information on their payment requirements.
This varies by state but is generally 2 weeks for mail-in applications and 20 minutes for in-person applications (since they are processed immediately over the counter). Please keep in mind that some offices have suspended all in-person services until further notice in an effort to protect employees and customers from the spread of COVID-19 and accept mail-in applications only.
For more detailed information regarding the application process, requirements, processing time, fees, etc. please visit the website of the state agency authorized to authenticate documents for the state where the document you need apostilled was issued:
