How to Prepare Documents for a Federal Apostille
Federal apostilles come from the U.S. Department of State, not your state's Secretary of State. Getting the right document in the right format is most of the battle. Here is the complete preparation guide.
A federal apostille is issued by the U.S. Department of State, not by a state Secretary of State, and it applies to documents signed by federal officials or issued by federal agencies. Preparing the right document in the right format is most of the work: the document has to be the correct federal record, complete, legible, and unaltered. Send the wrong document or the wrong format and it is rejected, costing you weeks. This guide walks through what counts as a federal document, how to prepare each common type, the realistic federal processing time, and the mistakes that cause rejections.
What Counts as a Federal Document
Federal apostilles apply only to documents that come from the federal government or are signed by a federal official. State-issued documents (birth certificates, diplomas, state notarizations) go to a state Secretary of State instead. These are the common federal documents.
FBI background check
The FBI Identity History Summary, issued electronically by the FBI, usually through an FBI-approved channeler.
FBI background check apostille guideSSA benefit letter
A Social Security benefit verification or award letter, downloaded from your my Social Security account on ssa.gov.
Apostille an SSA benefit letterIRS documents
Federal tax documents such as a U.S. residency certification (Form 6166), which the IRS issues after a Form 8802 request.
USDA and FDA export documents
Federal export and health certificates issued by the Department of Agriculture or the Food and Drug Administration for goods shipped abroad.
Documents signed by federal officials
Records bearing the signature of a federal official whose signature the Department of State holds on file.
Federal court documents
Documents issued by a U.S. federal court, certified by the clerk of that court.
Naturalization-related records have special handling; our free review confirms the right path before you do anything with them.
Preparation by Document Type
The general rule is simple: complete, legible, unaltered documents. Beyond that, each common federal document has a specific way it should be prepared.
FBI Identity History Summary (background check)
Keep the PDF exactly as the FBI or your channeler issued it. Do not print it and scan it back in, do not crop it, and do not alter anything. The report carries a digital signature that matters for authentication, and re-printing or re-scanning can break it. Upload the original PDF as you received it.
SSA benefit letter
Download the benefit verification or award letter directly from your my Social Security account at ssa.gov. The downloaded version is the one to use. Keep it complete, including any header and footer, and do not edit it.
IRS certification (for example Form 6166)
Order the specific certification you need rather than a generic transcript. Form 6166, the U.S. residency certification many countries ask for, is issued by the IRS only after you file a Form 8802 request. Build the IRS lead time into your plan, because the certification has to exist before it can be apostilled.
General rule for any federal document
Submit it complete (every page), legible, and unaltered. Do not add notarization to a federal original that does not call for it, and do not modify the file. If you are unsure whether your document is the right federal record, a free review confirms it before you commit time to the federal queue.
The Federal Processing Reality
Federal apostilles do not move at state speed. Plan your deadlines around the federal queue, not around state turnaround times.
The U.S. Department of State's mail-in authentication service commonly runs 10 to 12 weeks. That is the realistic window to plan around, and it is separate from the time it takes to obtain the underlying document in the first place. If you have a consulate appointment or a visa deadline, count backward from it and start early.
Here is how our handling works for federal documents. You upload the federal document to us, the FBI PDF, the SSA letter, or the IRS certification, exactly as it was issued. We prepare and submit it through the federal path and ship the finished apostille to you with tracking. What we need from you is the correct document file; we handle the routing and the submission.
Last verified: June 2026 · Source: U.S. Department of State
Common Preparation Mistakes
These are the mistakes that cause federal documents to be rejected when people submit them directly. With us, the routing is handled, so most of these never happen.
- Sending a federal document to a state Secretary of State. A state office cannot apostille a federal record, so it is rejected and returned.
- Altering the FBI PDF. Printing, scanning, cropping, or editing the report can break the digital signature and invalidate it.
- Submitting incomplete pages. Missing a page, a header, or a footer is a common reason a federal document is sent back.
- Leaving off the destination country. The authentication request needs to state where the document is going.
- Requesting a state apostille when the receiving country needs the federal path. The wrong authority means the wrong apostille, and a rejection abroad.
With us, you upload the document and we route it to the correct federal authority, so the directional mistakes above are taken off your plate.
Never mail your original documents
We process apostilles from a notarized true copy of your uploaded scan. Your birth certificate, diploma, or FBI report never leaves your hands, so it can never be lost in the mail.
How true copy processing worksFrequently Asked Questions
Start with the correct federal document (an FBI background check, an SSA letter, an IRS certification, or another federal record), keep it complete, legible, and unaltered, and include the destination country. For an FBI report, keep the PDF exactly as issued and do not print-scan it. Federal apostilles are issued by the U.S. Department of State, so the document must go to the federal path, not a state Secretary of State. With us, you upload the document and we handle the formatting and submission.
Related Resources
Have a Federal Document to Apostille?
Upload your FBI report, SSA letter, or IRS certification exactly as it was issued and we route it through the U.S. Department of State, then ship the finished apostille to you. Not sure if your document is federal? Start with a free review.
We are an independent service provider and are not affiliated with the U.S. Department of State or any government agency. Federal processing times are set by the U.S. Department of State, change over time, and were last verified in June 2026. Always confirm the current requirement and timeline with the receiving authority and the issuing agency.