Two separate systems
Documents issued by a federal agency, a federal court, or a federal or consular officer must go through the U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications in Washington, DC, for any destination country. Where a state issued document goes depends on the destination. Headed to a Hague Convention country, a state document needs a single state apostille from that state's own office, a separate service we do not offer. Headed to a non-Hague country, a state document instead goes through state authentication, then the U.S. Department of State, then embassy legalization, a quoted process we handle for you start to finish.
Federal documents
Federal documents are issued by an agency, court, or officer of the U.S. federal government rather than a state government. This includes FBI background checks, IRS documents and letters, FDA certificates, USDA or APHIS certificates, USPTO patent or trademark documents, Social Security letters, federal court documents, and documents notarized by a federal or consular officer. See our full list of what we apostille for specific examples, including our dedicated pages on FBI background check apostilles, IRS document apostilles, FDA certificate apostilles, and SSA letter apostilles.
We hand deliver these documents in person to the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC and ship your apostilled or authenticated document back to you, which is what allows most orders to be completed in about a week once the document reaches us, rather than the 5 to 6 weeks a mailed submission commonly takes.
State issued documents
Birth certificates, marriage certificates, state notarized Powers of Attorney, diplomas or transcripts from state chartered schools, state background checks, state court documents, and business or corporate documents are issued at the state level, not the federal level. Whether we handle one depends on the destination country. If it is headed to a country that has not joined the Hague Convention, we handle the full process, state authentication, federal authentication, and embassy legalization, priced by quote. See our embassy legalization page for details. If it is headed to a Hague Convention country instead, it needs a single state apostille from that state's own office, a separate service we do not offer. Contact us and we will confirm which applies to your document.
The correct order of steps
Documents that require multiple certifications before they are ready for a state or federal apostille must be completed in the correct order. Skipping a step or completing them out of order is one of the most common reasons a document is rejected and has to be resubmitted.
- Local step first, such as notarization by a local notary public where applicable.
- State step next, for documents that require certification by a county clerk or state official before they can proceed further.
- Federal step after that, where applicable, meaning documents issued by a federal agency go to the U.S. Department of State for the apostille or authentication.
- Embassy step last, only when the destination country is not a Hague Convention member. See our embassy legalization page for what that step involves.
This order never runs backward. A federal document cannot be apostilled at the state level, and an embassy will not add a legalization stamp to a document that has not already completed the federal step. Confirm your document meets the necessary condition before submitting it by reviewing document requirements.
If your order has both
Some customers have a mix of federal and state issued documents in the same order, for example an FBI background check alongside a birth certificate. If everything in the order is headed to a non-Hague country, we can handle both the federal document and the state document, priced by quote. If a state document in the order is headed to a Hague country, that document needs a single state apostille from a different office instead. Contact us with a description of everything you need apostilled or authenticated, and we will tell you exactly which documents we can handle and where to send the rest.
Frequently asked questions
- How can I tell if my document is federal or state issued? Look at who signed or issued it. Documents from a federal agency, such as the FBI, IRS, FDA, USDA, USPTO, or Social Security Administration, a federal court, or a federal or consular officer, are federal. Documents such as a birth certificate, a marriage certificate, a state notarized Power of Attorney, or a diploma from a state chartered school are state issued.
- Can the U.S. Department of State apostille my birth certificate? The U.S. Department of State does not issue an apostille for a birth certificate, since birth certificates are state issued. If your birth certificate is headed to a Hague Convention country, it needs a single state apostille from that state's own office, a separate service we do not offer. If it is headed to a non-Hague country, it does reach the U.S. Department of State as part of our state authentication, federal authentication, and embassy legalization process, priced by quote.
- Can a state apostille office handle my FBI report or IRS letter? No. Federal documents can only be apostilled or authenticated by the U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications in Washington, DC, for any destination country. A state office has no authority over documents issued by a federal agency, regardless of which state you live in.
- What should I do if my document is state issued? It depends on the destination country. If your document is headed to a non-Hague country, we handle it for you as a quoted order that includes state authentication, federal authentication, and embassy legalization. If it is headed to a Hague Convention country, it instead needs a single state apostille from a different office, which we do not offer. Contact us and we will confirm which applies to your document.
- What if my order has both a federal and a state document? If everything in your order is headed to a non-Hague country, we can handle both the federal and the state document, priced by quote. If a state document in the order is headed to a Hague country, that document needs a separate state apostille instead. Contact us and we will tell you exactly which of your documents we can handle and where the rest should go.