Section: By Document
Which office apostilles a document depends on who signed it. State-level documents are issued by state or local officials or made public by a state-commissioned notary; federal documents (listed last) are handled in Washington, D.C.
Document
Birth certificate
Birth certificates are the most frequently apostilled U.S. document — for citizenship by descent, marriage abroad, residency visas and school enrollment. The apostille is issued…
Document
Marriage certificate
Marriage certificates are apostilled for spousal residency visas, citizenship by descent, name changes abroad, foreign pension claims and property matters. Unlike birth…
Document
Death certificate
Death certificates are apostilled to settle estates abroad, claim foreign pensions and insurance, repatriate remains, remarry abroad and complete citizenship-by-descent lineages.…
Document
Divorce decree
A divorce decree is a court record, so the apostille attaches to the clerk of court's certification. It is required to remarry abroad, for citizenship by descent, for spousal…
Document
Single-status affidavit
The United States has no national registry of marital status, so foreign civil registries accept a sworn statement instead. The affidavit is a private document made public by a…
Document
Power of attorney
A power of attorney signed in the U.S. for use abroad becomes a public document through notarization. The state where the notary is commissioned issues the apostille; the…
Document
Diploma / degree certificate
Diplomas are private documents issued by schools, so they are apostilled through a notarization — either a notarized copy of the diploma or the registrar's notarized signature.…
Document
Academic transcript
Transcripts are apostilled for university admission, credential recognition and professional licensing abroad. The registrar's signature is notarized, or a notarized copy is made,…
Document
State police background check
State criminal history records are state documents, apostilled by the state that issued them. They satisfy some countries and visa programs; many others specify the FBI Identity…
Document
Passport copy
A U.S. passport is a federal document, but it cannot be apostilled as such — the Department of State does not authenticate passports. The accepted route is a notarized copy,…
Document
Child travel consent letter
A consent letter authorizes a child to travel with one parent or a third party. Notarization makes it a public document; several Latin American countries require an apostille on…
Document
Affidavit / sworn statement
Affidavits — sworn written statements — are private documents made public by a notary's jurat. They are apostilled for foreign courts, immigration offices, inheritance proceedings…
Document
Corporate documents
Companies apostille documents to register foreign subsidiaries and branches, open bank accounts abroad, bid on tenders, and appoint representatives. Secretary-of-State-issued…
Document
Court orders and judgments
State court records are public documents certified by the clerk of court. The apostille authenticates the clerk's signature and seal, and the state in which the court sits issues…
Document
Name-change documents
Foreign authorities compare names across every document in a file. A name change — by court order, marriage or amendment of the birth record — must be proved with an apostilled…
Document
Medical and vaccination records
Medical documents are private records signed by a physician or clinic. They become apostillable when the physician's signature is notarized or when the state health department…
Document
Professional license
Licensing boards are state agencies, so a license verification signed by the board is a state public document; a notarized copy of the license certificate is the fallback.…
Document
Driver's license / driving record
Driver's licenses are identity documents that cannot be apostilled directly; a notarized copy is apostilled instead. Certified driving records issued by the DMV, by contrast, are…
Document
Bank letters and financial documents
Bank letters and statements are private documents; they are apostilled through a notarized signature of a bank officer or a notarized copy. Residency visas with income or savings…
Document
Adoption documents
Intercountry adoption dossiers are the largest multi-document apostille packages most families ever assemble. Each document is apostilled by the state that issued or notarized it;…
Document
Wills and estate documents
Settling an estate that includes property or accounts abroad requires authenticated U.S. probate documents. Court-issued documents are apostilled on the clerk's certification;…
Document
Employment letters
Employer letters are private documents apostilled through a notarization of the signing officer's signature. Gulf employers, residency applications with income tests, and…
Document
Pet travel documents
Most countries require a USDA-endorsed health certificate for an arriving pet, not an apostille. A small number of destinations add an apostille or embassy legalization on top;…
Federal
FBI Background Check
It is a document of a federal agency (DOJ/FBI); travel.state.gov lists 'FBI background checks' among federal documents. State Secretaries of State cannot apostille it; only the…
Federal
DD-214 Military Records
Issued by a federal agency (DoD) and certified by a federal custodian (NARA); federal-official signatures are apostilled only by the U.S. Department of State.
Federal
IRS Form 6166
Signed by an IRS official; travel.state.gov names 'IRS certification of U.S. tax residency' as a federal document.
Federal
IRS EIN Letters & Transcripts
Issued by a federal agency (IRS); travel.state.gov lists federal documents generally as those signed by a U.S. federal official.
Federal
Social Security Letter
travel.state.gov lists Social Security Administration documents among federal documents handled by the Office of Authentications.
Federal
Certificate of Naturalization
travel.state.gov lists 'DHS certificates of naturalization' as federal documents; USCIS is a federal agency, so DOS, not a state, authenticates the USCIS officer's signature.
Federal
Consular Report of Birth Abroad
It is a consular document issued by the State Department; the HCCH listing and 7 FAM 870 say apostilles for consular reports of birth, death and marriage are handled by Passport…
Federal
U.S. Passport Copy
Not federal: travel.state.gov expressly lists 'copy of a U.S. passport bio page' among STATE documents. The notary's signature is authenticated by the state Secretary of State…
Federal
Federal Court Documents
Under the Hague Convention the U.S. designated clerks and deputy clerks of federal courts as competent authorities for their own records, so a federal court can apostille its own…
Federal
FDA Export Certificates
Signed by a federal (HHS/FDA) official; travel.state.gov lists 'HHS certificates of foreign governments and certificates of pharmaceutical product or export' as federal documents.…
Federal
USDA APHIS Export Certificates
The APHIS endorsing veterinary officer is a federal official; travel.state.gov lists 'USDA animal and plant or animal health certifications' as federal documents.
Federal
Animal Health Certificates
The APHIS endorsement is a federal official's signature and seal; only the U.S. Department of State can apostille it.
Federal
USPTO Patent & Trademark Documents
Signed by a federal certifying officer; travel.state.gov lists 'USPTO patent and trademark applications' as federal documents.
Federal
Federal Agency Documents
The Office of Authentications authenticates signatures of U.S. federal officials; state Secretaries of State have no record of federal officials' signatures.
Federal
Consular Notarized Documents
travel.state.gov lists documents signed by a 'U.S. consular officer' among those the Office of Authentications apostilles/authenticates; a consular notarization is a federal…
