Birth Certificate Apostille

In most cases, no. You upload a clear color scan of your birth certificate through our secure portal. Our licensed notary certifies that the printed copy is a true and accurate reproduction of the original, and a U.S. Secretary of State issues the apostille on the notary-certified true copy.

Your original birth certificate never has to leave your possession. The resulting apostilled document is recognized across Hague Convention countries for almost every common use case (dual citizenship, marriage abroad, visa applications, school enrollment, foreign property transactions, and more).

The only time you would need to mail the physical original is if the receiving authority in your destination country specifically requires the original document, or specifically requires the apostille to come from the same state that issued your birth certificate. If that applies to your situation, we offer an Original Document Apostille service and will guide you through it.

Learn more about our digital process →

Our process uses a U.S.-licensed notary who certifies that a printed copy made from your scan is a true and accurate reproduction of the original document. A U.S. Secretary of State then issues the apostille on the notary-certified true copy. The apostille authenticates the notary's seal and signature, which is exactly what the Hague Convention recognizes.

Because we work from a scan, your original never has to leave your possession, processing is significantly faster than mailing physical documents back and forth, and there is no risk of your original being lost or damaged in transit.

Government-issued vital records (birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates) typically do not require additional notarization before apostille.

Private documents such as powers of attorney, school transcripts, and personal affidavits do need to be notarized first, because the apostille is issued on the notary's certification rather than on the document itself. If your birth certificate needs notarization, we can handle it as part of your order through our remote online notary add-on.

Our digital process completes Economy orders in 4-6 business days, Standard in 2-3 business days, and Express in 1 business day. Shipping time is separate from processing time.

See full processing time details →

Pricing depends on the processing tier you choose. Economy starts at $149 per document, Standard at $197, and Express (1 business day) at $249.

All tiers include document review, notarized true copy, state apostille, and tracked domestic shipping.

See full pricing details and add-ons →

Over 120 countries that are members of the Hague Apostille Convention accept apostilles. This includes most of Europe, South America, and many countries in Asia and Africa.

If your destination country is not a member of the Hague Convention, you may need embassy legalization instead of an apostille. Browse country-specific guidance →

Not necessarily. With our digital process, the apostille is issued by a U.S. Secretary of State where our licensed notary is commissioned, which may be a different state than the one that originally issued your birth certificate. The apostille is fully Hague Convention compliant and accepted by receiving authorities in 120+ countries regardless of which state issued it.

If the receiving authority in your destination country specifically requires the apostille to come from the same state that issued your birth certificate, you would need to use our Original Document Apostille service, which routes your physical original through the issuing state.