Frequently Asked Questions

Apostille is an international form of document legalization. It is in the effect since October 5, 1961. That is when the Apostille Convention was adopted, therefore abolishing the requirements for Embassy legalization of foreign public documents between Apostille Member States. US joined Apostille convention on Oct. 15, 1981. 

Apostille verifies the signature, seal and authority on the document. In some cases, apostille verifies the notary power. So, no apostille is not a notary. Notary is a local officer of the State, whose powers are limited to state boundaries. Apostille is an international instrument of document legalization. 

 Through getting it notarized. There are three ways to go about getting Diploma Apostille:

• Original notarized at registrar's office
• Copy notarized at the registrar's office
• Copy notarized through verification

Some countries will require option one only, while others will not care as long as the Apostille Diploma is presented in time. 

Document requirements for US citizens to get married in Colombia may vary. The exact last must be confirmed directly with the Notary in Colombia who will solemnize the marriage. In general, you will need:

• Birth Certificate Apostille and Translated
• Single Status Affidavit (Declaración de soltería) Apostille and 
• Translated Divorce Certificate or Death Certificate if previously married, also Apostille and Translated.

For marriage in Colombia documents and Apostille are only valid for 90 days! Plan accordingly. 

If you are outside of the United States, and need your Diploma apostille for South Korea. You may use the route with photo copy apostille for the diploma and transcript. South Korea will not require original diploma apostille.Order can be placed online with DOXNOW and then the document will be mailed physically to the recipient, after apostille is attached. 

By the rules, and according to the Secretary of State office in virtually every state you are not able to get apostille for Puerto Rico. However, the reality is that the Government of Puerto Rico will require some sort of authentication for the documents notarized elsewhere in the continental United States. Our blog discusses this in detail. 

California, is among a few other states who have adopted an universal approach to document authentication. Instead of issuing apostille and certificate of authentication, they will only issue an apostille, regardless of the target country. Moreover, California apostille is a trilingual model making it much easier to use internationally.  This did cause a number of issues at the begging and CA Secretary of State office had to issue an official statement to be used with submission to foreign consulates, not party to "Apostille Convention", however overtime this has been accepted and resolved. 

All documents issued by the Federal agencies of the US Government are to be apostilled or authenticated through the United States Department of State Office of Authentications. This will include IRS certificates, letters and transcripts, US Coast Guard vessel documents and certificates, FCC certificates, USPTO certified records, patents, trademarks, assignments, FBI background checks, SEC filings, FDA Free Sale Certificates and Certificates for Foreign Government, U.S. District Court Records, Social Security Documents, National Archives records, US Department of Justice documents and many more. 

To prove to foreign authorities that you have a valid US Driver License you will need to obtain apostille driver license. The photocopy needs to be duly notarized and then apostilled. If this is not enough we recommend getting apostille driving record abstract, This document will have:

• Apostille
• Your name
• Your address
• Driver license validity
• Other items

Depending on your state some items may or may bot be listed. We provide apostille service for all driving records. 

When it comes to apostille it may only be apostilled by the appropriate authority designated and listed in the text of the Hague Convention on Apostille. All though it may be logical to assume that FBI document should be of VA or DC origin, it is not for apostille purposes. Federal Bureau of Investigations is a Federal entity and as such signatures and seals of the federal officials may only be authenticated by the United States Department of State. 

First of all you should contact the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services office. You will need to set up an appointment for copy certification and at the appointment request that they produce a certified true copy of the document or copy thereof. In this case a copy of the actual naturalization certificate will be compared to original and certified with Form G-24. Once this is done and an authorized field director has signed the form, the document can be apostilled. If you are abroad, we have more information in our blog. 

You may not. Birth certificates, like any other vital record documents, are publicly recordable documents, a certified copies of which are available though appropriate vital records office. In most states the laws specifically forbid notary public making copies or notarizing them for apostille purposes. 

The most important part of getting the document is to confirm that you are getting the correct one. In the U.S. a national marriage index does not exists and each state maintain their records as they deem fit. The outcome is that this creates a myriad of possibilities to prove your marital status through various documents and statements. The two most commonly used ones are Single Status Affidavit and Certificate of No Record of Marriage. Our blog post provides a complete description and thorough comparison for both documents. Add an answer to this item.

That depends on the signature and seal of office which is being apostilled. New York Apostille can be issued directly on life and facsimile signatures of the State Officials. For example personal documents like New York Birth Certificates, New York Marriage Certificates and New York Articles of Incorporation, New York Annual Reports and New York Certificates Under Seal are eligible for New York Apostille as is, without County Clerk. However, notarized documents, such as Diplomas, Powers of Attorney, Affidavits, and New York City Birth Records, NYC Marriage Certificates and New York State Background Checks must be submitted to County Clerk's Office before NY Apostille may be issued. 

For apostille purposes, all New York City Birth Certificates must have a letter of exemplification. It is a special letter with the life signature of the City Official which is only required for apostille. To obtain the exemplified birth certificate in NYC you need to place a request for the new document either through the NYC Department of Health or Vitalchek. It is crucial that you indicate that the reason why you making the request for new NYC birth certificate is apostille. For any other reason the letter of exemplification will not be issued. Exemplification requirements only apply to NYC Birth and Death records. Birth Certificates issued outside of the City of New York, do not need letter of exemplification for apostille. 

In many cases DOXNOW is able to retrieve and apostille personal and business documents. However, there are some restrictions and requirements when it comes to vital records such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, divorce certificates and marital status. We recommend that you reach out to our teach prior to placing the request. This way we will be able to advise you on what will be required and what is expected.  

No, travel is not necessary to get apostille. You may simply deliver your document(s) to DOXNOW for apostille processing and receive them back once ready. We ship DHL and UPS international for your convenience. 

The answer depends on the target authorities to whom the documents will be presented. For instance, some countries will accept State issued background checks, while other will require a nationwide certificate from the FBI.

Getting a state level criminal history report (or absent of such) is typically much faster and easier than going through the FBI, yet it may not be accepted in the target country. For instance, Kuwait, Russia, Italy, Portugal, and Costa Rica, will all need FBI Criminal History Background Check with apostille. Kuwait Consulate also requests that only clean records are presented for Kuwait Legalization, everything else may be rejected based on consular discretion. State level background checks for apostille must be certified or in some cases notarized. For example, Pennsylvania and Florida background checks must have notary stamp to be apostille eligible. New York Criminal History Record Check needs a special letter for apostille purposes. 

Each State will set their own rules and requirements when it comes to the divorce records. In some states the divorce information is public records, in some it is mixed, and in others it is private record not able to third parties. Moreover, some states have Divorce Decrees and Divorce Certificates available upon request. The difference between the two is that that the Divorce Decree (aka The Final Judgment of Divorce) is the complete transcript of Divorce, whereas Divorce Certificate is a brief declaration of facts that the couple is divorced. In a sense Divorce Certificate is a Divorce Verification statement.

DOXNOW can assist with the retrieval, apostille, and embassy legalization for the Divorce records through out the United States, including but not limited to such states as Florida, California, Texas, Alabama, Alaska, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, North Carolina, Arizona, and Georgia. 

If you require proof of your civil status, you may request one with DOXNOW Apostille & Document Experts. We can assist US Citizen, Permanent Residents, and Foreign Nationals alike. Our services provide retrieval and/or preparation services for Civil Status, No-Impediment Statement, Single Status Affidavit, No Marriage Record Certificate and Certificate of Eligibility to Marry. Your civil status for Netherlands will have to be apostilled before it may be presented to the target authorities. The Civil status certificates are issued by the State or County level government office which the custody of the marriage index. In each state this is done differently and may require proof of identity before the document is issued. The Declaration of Single Status or Affidavit of No Impediment is a sworn statement given by the individual. You may prepare it yourself or have DOXNOW draft it professionally. 

For a passport copy to be eligible for apostille it will have to be duly notarized. Only then it may be submitted to the Office of the Secretary of State for apostille processing. DOXNOW passport copy apostille offers complete range of apostille and photocopy services. B&W or Color options are available. If you need to apostille your passport copy reach out via email, WhatsApp, or text. Apostille services for passport copy are available for US Passports and Foreign Passports alike. 

Apostille for CDC Vaccine Card by itself cannot be issued. However, there are several ways to apostille vaccination record showing that you have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in the United States. One way is through an official health vaccination certificate or special State Covid-19 vaccination record available in many states. Another option is through the notarization of the actual CDC Vaccine card. Regardless of the process CDC Vaccine Card apostille will not be done through the United States Department of State as it is a local record. 

Yes. Embassy legalization process will be similar to CDC Vaccine Card Apostille, however, for Embassy legalization the CDC Vaccine card will be attested by State, US Department of State and the Embassy of the target country. CDC Vaccine Card legalization is required for China, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cuba, Iraq, Iran, and Jordan.

Degree and Educational Certificate Apostille (or Embassy Legalization) process will largely depend on the target country. Some accept apostille photocopy of the diploma, degree, or certificate, while others may need the original to be with apostille or embassy legalization stamp. For accurate apostille requirements and embassy legalization procedure, please reach out to us directly. 

Power of Attorney is an essential document of power delegation. However, to be eligible for apostille or embassy legalization the Power of Attorney (POA) must comply with the requirements, laws, and regulations of the target country and the United States. For apostille purposed the Power of Attorney (POA)needs to be signed by the grantor in front of the notary public, and properly notarized. 

Once the Power of Attorney (POA) is notarized it may be submitted for apostille processing.

US Residency Certificate or IRS Form 6166 Apostille is an official federal document issued by the Internal Revenue Services and states that an individual or entity is a US Tax resident as it is prescribed by the specific tax treaty.  To obtain the form it is important to file Form 8802 with the IRS. Additional documents and statements of perjury may be required. LLC, S-Corporations and partnerships are all treated the same and the certification is issued through at least one member who files US tax return (1040 or 1120) . Individuals who claimed tax exemptions and exclusions will not be eligible for US Tax Residency.  

• First thing we recommend to do, is assemble a complete list of the document which will be required. 
• Then separate the internal documents from those obtained from government agencies. 
• Next step is to prepare the internal records and place requests for copies of the document from government agencies.
• Once complete proceed with authentication through state government, US Dept. of State and Chinese Embassy.

When this happens, the documents - original articles are not replaced in the state database, however the information which is being amended is substituted in the entity records. Restated articles are an amendment and that is what should be ordered along with the initial articles of incorporation or formation. You will need the certified copy for apostille. Notary public cannot make notarized true copies of the state filed certificates. 

A Certificate Under Seal is one of the names used for the Certificate of Good Standing, also known as Status Certificate. The main reason many states try to avoid calling it Good Standing, is that often the certificate is issued Not in Good Standing. This happens when the entity fails to file annual report and is suspended as the result. When such event happens the entity must be reinstated, all dues and penalties paid and only then the Good Standing Certificate may be issued. Each state has their own way of issuing Certificates Under Seal. In New York it is issued with facsimile signature and seal, while in Delaware it need a gold raised seal for apostille processing.

In general, to open a branch or representative office of the US entity in a foreign country a set of business documents with apostille or embassy legalization stamps must be assembled. Such document packet will contain the essential business documents which government the everyday operations of the entity as well as specific records related to the process of opening the branch or representative office. 

The list of documents provided below may only be used as a reference, and actual requirements must be confirmed with the target authorities:

• Letter of Intent to Register Branch or Representative Office
• Articles of Incorporation 
• Articles of Amendment (if any)
• Certificate of Good Standing (Status)
• Bylaws or Operating Agreement
• Board Resolution
• Statement of Incumbency
• Powers of Attorney
• EIN Letter
• Banking Recommendation Letter

All documents signed or produced in the US must contain apostille seal or embassy legalization stamp. Translation requirements are set by each country individually. 

Certificate of Free Sale apostille (or CFS Apostille) processing depends on the type of CFS that you have. There are three types of CFSs eligible for apostille processing:

FDA Certificate of Free Sale – a document issued by the Federal agency. Apostille FDA CFS is issued through the United States Department of State

Local Certificate of Free Sale – issued through the local department of agriculture, commerce, or health. Local and state level certificate of free sale need apostille on the state level. For instance, CA CFS needs California Apostille, FL CFS needs Florida apostille, and MA CFS will nee Massachusetts Apostille.