A divorce decree issued in Pennsylvania is apostilled by Pennsylvania, not by the state where you live now. An apostilled divorce decree proves the legal dissolution of a prior marriage and is frequently required for remarriage in a foreign country, immigration applications, international property settlements, and name changes with foreign authorities. Because divorce records can involve different court documents - final decrees, judgments, certificates of divorce - understanding which document your destination country requires is the first step. We review your specific situation and ensure you submit the correct document for apostille.
Upload a clear scan of your Pennsylvania divorce decree. We prepare a notarized true copy and obtain the Pennsylvania apostille on it, so the original never leaves your hands. This is the fastest path for most destinations.
Start True CopySome receiving authorities require the apostille on the original certified divorce decree. Ship the document to us and we file it with Pennsylvania and return it with the apostille attached. Transit time is separate from processing.
Start Original ProcessingEvery order starts with a free review so problems are caught before anything is filed with Pennsylvania.
A photocopy of your divorce decree - even if it looks official - cannot be apostilled unless it has been certified by the clerk of the court that issued the original decree. You need to request a certified copy from the courthouse, which will include the clerk's signature and seal.
The certified copy must bear the court's official seal (raised, embossed, or stamped). Some courts issue certified copies with only a stamp and signature but no raised seal. If the Secretary of State requires a raised seal, the document will be rejected. We verify this during our review.
Some states issue both a divorce decree (the court order dissolving the marriage) and a certificate of divorce (a vital records summary document). These are different documents. Some destination countries accept either; others specifically require one or the other. Submitting the wrong one can delay your process by weeks.
Some divorces involve intermediate orders before the final decree is entered. Only the final decree or final judgment of divorce can be apostilled for use abroad. If you submit a temporary or interlocutory order, it will be rejected by the destination country even if successfully apostilled.
Yes. The apostille always comes from the state that issued the document, so a Pennsylvania divorce decree is apostilled in Pennsylvania regardless of where you live now, including outside the United States. You upload or ship the document to us and we handle the Pennsylvania filing.
Not always. True Copy processing starts with a clear upload and is the faster path for most divorce decree orders. Original Document Processing is for destinations that require the apostille attached to the original; in that case you ship the document to us and transit time is separate from processing.
In most Hague Convention countries, yes. Foreign civil registries require proof that any prior marriage was legally dissolved before they will register a new marriage. An apostilled divorce decree (or apostilled certificate of divorce, depending on the country) serves as that proof.
Absolutely. There is no expiration on when a divorce decree can be apostilled. You will need a certified copy from the court that granted the divorce - contact the clerk of court in the county where the divorce was finalized. Even if the court has archived the file, they can issue a new certified copy.
The apostille must come from the state where the divorce was granted, not your current state of residence. For example, if your divorce was finalized in Illinois but you now live in Georgia, the apostille must be issued by the Illinois Secretary of State. We process apostilles from all 50 states.
This depends on what your destination country requires. The divorce decree is the court order itself, while the certificate of divorce is a summary document issued by the state's vital records office. Many countries prefer the decree. We can advise you based on your specific destination country during our document review.
Technically, the apostilled decree covers the divorce case itself, not a specific party. However, in practice, each party should have their own apostilled certified copy because foreign institutions typically retain the original. We recommend each party order and apostille their own certified copy.
