Everything a Notary Must Know about an Apostille

According to the Hague Apostille Convention, an apostille is a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document. For the apostille to be used, both the issuing and receiving countries must be parties to the Apostille Convention. Additional information about the Apostille Convention can be found in the publication ABCs of Apostilles. In addition, the following link provides a list of countries that are parties to the Apostille Convention.

I have clients from all walks of life who require assistance in processing their apostille requests. It is important to note that, as notaries, we assist with processing the client’s paperwork and sometimes provide courier services. The most common documents that need apostilles are birth certificates, school diplomas and transcripts, power of attorneys, and marriage, birth, and death certificates.

While you don’t have to be a notary public to assist with the apostille process, many documents that require an apostille need to be notarized first, so having a notary commission is a plus if you plan to take on this endeavor.

There are several different variables involved when determining how an apostille request should be processed. There is no way all of the variables can be covered in one article. However, the majority of the documents I’ve processed have been fairly simple and have only required an apostille from the Secretary of State’s Apostille Unit.

Each state handles apostille requests differently. For instance, some states charge a fee per document. At the time of this writing, Texas charges $15 per document apostille. Indiana, on the other hand, does not charge a fee for apostille documents, while California charges $50 per apostille, and New Mexico charges $3 per apostille.

Texas and New Mexico apostille units usually provide same-day service for walk-ins. Indiana does not guarantee same-day service for walk-ins, and if a person requests more than 15 documents at once, they must drop off the documents and return in a day or two to pick them up.

Before beginning the apostille process, there are several factors that must be considered:

Type of document: This will determine the approval authority. For example, I had a customer with a Federal FBI background check who needed an apostille for use in Mexico. Two things to note here:1- Federal documents must be apostilled by the U.S. Department of State.2- Mexico is a party to the Apostille Convention, so there was no authentication required, only the apostille.

Country of destination: Is the document to be used in a Hague or non-Hague country? If the document is being used in a non-Hague country, then it will need to be authenticated, not apostilled. (Additional steps are usually required.)

State from which the document originated: This will determine which state issues the apostille. Apostilles are issued by the originating state. For instance, I had a client who lived in Mexico and needed an apostille for his college transcripts to use there. He attended the University of North Carolina, so transcripts had to be notarized by the university’s registrar and then forwarded to the North Carolina Secretary of State’s Office for a Mexico apostille.

Date of the document: Rules regarding the dating of documents will vary from state to state. For instance, if a Texas resident has a certified copy of a birth certificate dated more than 3 years ago, a new certified copy must be requested. Birth certificates that require an apostille in the state of Texas cannot be more than 3 years old. You need to know your state’s procedures.