A Secretary of State — in the apostille context — is the U.S. state-level government office designated as the competent authority for issuing apostilles on documents originating in that state. Under the Hague Apostille Convention, each member country must designate one or more competent authorities to issue apostilles. In the United States, the country named two layers: each of the 50 state Secretaries of State (plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico) for state-level documents, and the U.S. Department of State for federal documents.
What Documents Each Authority Apostilles
State Secretaries of State apostille:
- Birth certificates issued by the state vital records office
- Marriage certificates from the state or county clerk
- Divorce certificates from state vital records or court clerks
- Death certificates from the state vital records office
- Single status affidavits notarized in that state
- Powers of attorney notarized in that state
- Certificates of Good Standing for entities registered in that state
- Notarized contracts, diplomas, transcripts, and corporate filings
The U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. apostilles federal documents:
- FBI Identity History Summaries
- IRS Form 6166 (U.S. tax residency)
- Federal court records and federal agency documents
- Documents signed by U.S. consular officers abroad
How Long Does Each Authority Take?
- State Secretary of State: Typically 1–4 weeks by mail, often same-day for in-person walk-ins. Fees range from $5 (Pennsylvania) to $40 (Florida) per document.
- U.S. Department of State (federal): Currently 8–12 weeks by mail. The walk-in window in D.C. accepts a limited number of same-day requests but requires you (or a courier) to be physically present.
Which Secretary of State Handles My Document?
The apostille must be issued by the Secretary of State of the same state that issued (or notarized) the document. For example:
- A California birth certificate must be apostilled by the California Secretary of State.
- A power of attorney notarized by a Texas notary must be apostilled by the Texas Secretary of State.
- A Delaware Certificate of Good Standing must be apostilled by the Delaware Secretary of State, even if the underlying business operates in another state.
Our apostille services route your document to the correct Secretary of State automatically — you just upload it and we handle the rest.
Important Notes
- You cannot use one state’s Secretary of State to apostille another state’s document. The match must be exact.
- Each state has its own fee schedule, processing time, and accepted payment methods.
- Some states (e.g., New York) require an extra county clerk certification step before the Secretary of State will issue the apostille.
- If your destination country is not a Hague member, you’ll need consular legalization — the document still goes through the Secretary of State, but then continues to the U.S. Department of State and the destination country’s embassy.