US Department of State apostille: only for federal signatures

Which documents the Department of State apostilles

The question is who signed the document, not what the document is about. The Department’s apostille page lists four kinds of signers:

• a U.S. federal official
• a U.S. consular officer
• a foreign consul registered with the Department’s Office of Protocol
• a military notary or judge advocate

If one of them signed, the Department of State is the competent authority, the office the United States names to issue the apostille. If a state or county official signed, or a notary commissioned by a state, the document goes to that state instead. The Department says so on the same page: a state document used in a Hague Convention country is certified by the state that issued it.

That split catches people out. A birth certificate is a state record, even if you need it for a federal purpose. It goes to the state apostille office, covered in our apostille birth certificate guide. A state-level apostille in general is covered in how to get an apostille.

The FBI background check is the common case

The federal record most people send for an apostille is an FBI Identity History Summary, often called an FBI background check. It is needed for visas, residence permits, and jobs abroad.

The FBI FAQ says the FBI no longer places its seal on the results. It authenticates them with the FBI watermark and the signature of a division official, applied at the time you submit the request. You can then send those FBI-authenticated results to the Department of State for an apostille. The FBI also says it will not authenticate results that were already processed, so ask for the authenticated version when you first request the check.

Do not take that FBI letter to a notary. It is already signed by a federal official. A notary’s certificate on top of it turns the item into a notarized document, which is a state matter and is no longer the federal record.

Why you should not notarize a federal document

This is the opposite of the state process. For a private document such as a power of attorney, the notary’s signature is what the state apostilles. For a federal document, the federal official’s signature is what the Department apostilles.

The Department’s page is blunt: do not get the original document notarized, and your document will no longer be valid if it is notarized. It also asks that the document be an original or a certified copy, that the seals and signatures be originals, and that it show the official’s legible signature, printed name, title, and agency seal. A certified copy is a copy with a certificate on it saying it is a true copy.

There is one place a notary does belong. If the destination country requires a translation from English, the Department says to get a professional translator and have the translation notarized. That notarized translation is a separate document. It follows the state route of the notary who notarized it.

A notarized photocopy of a federal document, such as a copy of a U.S. passport page, is also a state route. The Texas Secretary of State lists copies of passports among the non-recordable documents a Texas notary can notarize and the state can then apostille. Whether the foreign office will accept a notarized copy instead of a federal apostille is a question for that office. The state’s apostille office is not the place to ask it.

How to request a US Department of State apostille

The request page and the Office of Authentications page set out the steps.

1. Check whether the country is in the Hague Apostille Convention. An apostille is for a member country. An authentication certificate is for a country that is not.
2. Fill out Form DS-4194 and list the country where you will use the document.
3. Pay $20 per document. By mail, pay by check or money order payable to the U.S. Department of State. The check must have your name and address preprinted, and the check number must be over 100. Do not send cash or card details.
4. Include one self-addressed, prepaid return envelope with the postage or air bill on it. Use USPS or UPS. The Department asks you not to use FedEx for the return envelope.
5. Mail it to the U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications, 44132 Mercure Cir., PO Box 1206, Sterling, VA 20166-1206.

The Department says it will process a mailed request within five weeks from the date it receives it. Plan around that number, then add shipping both ways.

Walk-in and emergency appointments

The Office of Authentications takes walk-in drop-off and pick-up at 600 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20006. The page lists walk-in hours of 7:30 to 9:00 a.m., Monday through Thursday, one request per day, and a limit of 15 documents per customer or company. In person, it takes credit cards, debit cards, and contactless payment, and does not take cash, checks, or money orders.

Appointments exist only for life-or-death emergencies: you must need to travel abroad within two weeks because an immediate family member outside the United States has died, is dying, or has a life-threatening illness or injury. An appointment request is processed the same day. Appointments run 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Requests are processed on Fridays, but the office does not take walk-ins or appointments that day.

To check on a request, the Department points to its Contact Us form.

A packet with federal and state documents

Many overseas packets mix both kinds. A residence permit might ask for an FBI check, a birth certificate, and a signed declaration. Each piece follows its own signer.

For the notarized pieces, use a notary commissioned in the state whose office you will send them to. In New York, that notary’s county clerk certifies the notarization before the Department of State in Albany adds the apostille. In Florida and California, the notarized document goes straight to the Secretary of State. In Texas, the Secretary of State accepts an online notarization with the notary’s ledger and an audio-visual certificate, and warns that some countries may not accept it. The state pages on this site grade the notary products in each state. They do not grade the apostille office.

How to finish the notarized part is on how to notarize a document, and what it costs is on how much does a notary cost.

The buttons below are video notaries. Use one for a private document or a translation that needs to be notarized. Do not use one on the federal document itself.