The United States Court system has several branches that issues court documents to individuals and corporations. Some of those court branches are: Bankruptcy Courts, District Courts, Tax Courts, Court of International Trade, Court of Appeals, etc. The most common document issued by a US Federal Court to individuals is the Petition for Name Change.
When these documents are going to be used in foreign countries it is required that the documents be authenticated here in the U.S. This authentication assures foreign institutions that the documents are genuine.
A document issued by a U.S. Court requires a two-step authentication process if it is to be used overseas:
- The signature of the clerk of the US Court that issued the document has to be authenticated by the U.S. Department of Justice here in Washington, D.C. (WDC)
- Depending upon the foreign country where it will be used, the document will have to be Apostille or Authenticated by the U.S. Department of State (USDOS) in WDC.
For a US Court document to be authenticated by the US Department of Justice it has to be certified by the clerk of the issuing court with 1) a pen in hand signature, 2) name of the officer who signed the certification and 3) a court embosser seal.
Roca Authentications, LLC has many years of experience authenticating documents and can personally handle the above mentioned steps on your behalf here in Washington, D.C. Please send us an email or call our office for additional information.