Birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates require special handling. These original documents are issued by the state and require a state seal. (Bureau of Vital Records). In order to authenticate these documents from the U.S. Department of State, it is essential to first have them certified from the secretary of state where they were originally issued (Florida, California, etc).
If the document is to be used in a country signatory of The Hague Convention the same state that originated them can stamp the apostille. On the other hand, if it is to be used in countries non signatory of The Hague Convention the process must be continued in Washington, D.C. with the authentication by the U.S. Department of State and finally the legalization by the foreign consulate. Please note the following:
- Most states will not accept a photocopy certified as a true copy by a notary public or attested by you to be a true copy in a statement made before a notary. Also, many foreign countries will not accept notarized copies of birth, death, marriage and divorce records.
- Some states provide birth certificates ready for international use. For use in countries that belong to The Hague Convention (HC) the state office will release the certificate ready with an apostille. For countries that did not sign the multilateral Convention Treaty (NHC) the documents are delivered ready to be authenticated by the U.S. Department of State (USDOS) in Washington, DC.
- No matter where your documents are from please email us and we will have a solution to authenticate your documents.