To apostille or legalize a document in the United States varies depending upon whether it is a federal, state, business, commercial, educational, vital document (Birth certificates, Marriage certificates), etc.
Apostilles authenticate the seals and signatures of officials on public documents such as birth certificates, notarial, or any other document issued by a public authority, so that they can be recognized in foreign countries that are parties to The Hague Convention. In the United States, there are multiple designated Competent Authorities to issue Apostilles; the authority to issue an Apostille for a particular document depends on the origin of the document in question. State documents such as notarizations or vital records are authenticated by designated state competent authorities, usually the corresponding origin state Secretary of State. Federal Documents has to be apostille in Washington, D.C. by the US Department of State (Foreign Affairs). All other types of documents must be apostille in the state that generates them. Roca Authentications LLC provides APOSTILLE services for all of the United States.
Those countries that do not participate in The Hague Convention program require at least four steps in order to legalize documents. First, it must be NOTARIZED; second it has to be CERTIFIED by the Secretary of the State. Third, it must be AUTHENTICATED by the U.S. Department of State and fourth it must be LEGALIZED at the EMBASSY/CONSULATE of the foreign country to which it will be sent. Roca Authentications LLC provides full services for all US States. Examples of these countries are – Canada, Kuwait, Qatar, etc.
Authentication of Credentials for use abroad from colleges, universities or other post-secondary institutions require special treatment at most consulates. Send us an email request and will send you the guideline to have your credentials apostille, or legalized.
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Birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates are issued by each individual state, and require special handling. Send us an email request and we will send you the guidelines to have these vital documents apostille, or legalized.
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(FBI Reports, Certificate of Naturalization, Petition for Name Change, Certificate of Free Sale, etc.). An apostille or authentication of documents issued by any federal agency has to be done by the US Department of State in Washington D.C.
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