Why Should I Apostille a Birth Certificate

You may need to apostille your birth certificate if you plan to use it for official purposes in another country who is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention. An apostille is a form of authentication that certifies the document as a true and accurate copy, and confirms that it is acceptable for use in a foreign country.

For example, you may need an apostilled birth certificate if you are:

  • Applying for a visa or residency in another country
  • Enrolling in a foreign school or university
  • Getting married or seeking legal recognition of a relationship in another country
  • Participating in legal proceedings in another country
  • Proving your identity or age for various purposes, such as opening a bank account or applying for a driver’s license.

An apostille on your birth certificate helps to ensure that the document will be recognized and accepted by foreign authorities, and can save you time and hassle by avoiding potential delays or rejections due to lack of authentication.

How to apostille my birth certificate?

To obtain an apostille for your birth certificate, you need to follow these steps:

  1. Obtain a certified copy of your birth certificate from the issuing authority, such as the vital records office in the state or country where you were born.  In the United States, we recommend that you contact the County Clerk’s office or State Registrar.
  2. Check the requirements of the country where the birth certificate will be used to make sure it meets their criteria for an apostille.  For example, in the state of California, a birth certificate issued from the Health Department will require the County Clerk to authenticate the Doctor’s signature.
  3. Contact the appropriate authority to obtain the apostille. In the United States, this is typically the Secretary of State in the state where the birth certificate was issued.  For example, if the birth certificate originates from California, you will need a California apostille.
  4. Provide the certified copy of your birth certificate and any required fee or documentation to the appropriate authority.  Please contact our office so we can email you the instructions and order forms.
  5. Wait for the apostille to be processed, which can take several days or weeks depending on the authority.  The estimated processing time can be found here: Apostille Processing Time
  6. Once the apostille is processed, the state will attach it to your birth certificate, certifying that the document is authentic and can be recognized in the country where it will be used.

Obtaining an apostille can be complicated and time-consuming. Don’t leave this process to untrained employees or non-professionals who do not fully understand the Apostille process and the unique requirements of certain countries. Your paperwork could be rejected costing you time and money. Don’t let this happen to you!

International Apostille Order Form PDFClick to download our International Apostille Order Form. Our Apostille service is fast, convenient, and saves you time and money.

 

Apostille Birth Certificate

Do you need to apostille a birth certificate?

Are you planning to get married in another country?  Are you trying to obtain dual citizenship for Italy, India, Spain, or Mexico?  Do you also need to obtain an FBI Apostille?

In order to obtain an apostille on a birth certificate, you will need to mail in the original or a County Clerk issued certified copy (Basically as good as the original) or a certified copy issued by the State Registrar.  You can contact the County Clerk’s office (County of Birth) for instructions on how to obtain a new certified copy if you can’t find the original.  You can also try to order a new copy online through Vital Check.

There are many reasons why a foreign country will request an apostille on your birth certificate.  The most common reasons are:

  • Dual Citizenship
  • Marriage
  • Distribution of Assets/Inheritance
  • Long Term Visa
  • New Job
  • Continue Education

Most states will accept original birth certificates.  The only exception is the states of Virginia and Wisconsin.  Birth certificates issued from these two states should be issued within the past 12 months.

Rule of Thumb: Disregard what you read on other websites regarding how old a birth certificate can be.  We recommend that you mail in what you currently have now so we can present it to the state office.  If the state does not accept your document, we will contact you with detailed instructions.

How to apostille a birth certificate?

Please download the order forms that corresponds with the state your birth certificate originates from.  For example, if your birth certificate originates from NY, be sure to download our New York order forms.  If your birth certificate originates from California, be sure to download our California order forms.  All of our apostille order forms can be downloaded by clicking the following link and choosing your state: Order Forms

If you have any questions, please call us:

Office Hours: 8am – 7pm Monday – Saturday
Customer Support: 1-888-903-7446
support@internationalapostille.com

Obtaining an apostille on your documents can be complicated and time consuming. Don’t leave this process to untrained employees or non-professionals who do not fully understand the Apostille process and the unique requirements of certain countries. Your paperwork could be rejected costing you time and money. Don’t let this happen to you!

International Apostille Order Form PDFClick to download our International Apostille Order Form. Our Apostille service is fast, convenient, and saves you time and money.

Apostille Birth Certificate

Birth Certificate ApostilleDo you need an apostille on a Birth Certificate?

If you’re planning to get married, obtain dual-citizenship, move, work, or conduct business in another country who is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, you may be asked to obtain an apostille your birth certificate.  The Apostille helps authenticate your documents so the country requesting it will accept it.  There are currently over 110 countries who are members of the Hague Apostille Convention.

We can apostille birth certificates issued from all 50 US States including the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.).  If you were born in the USA, we can apostille your documents.  We are, however, unable to apostille birth certificates issued from another country (Example: Russia, Mexico, Germany, etc…).  Document issued from another country must be apostilled there.  Also, if you are an American citizen born in another country, you will need to contact the US Department of State in Washington, D.C. for assistance.

The very first step is to contact our office.  Our trained and knowledgeable staff are available 8am to 7pm to answer your questions and to provide you easy to follow step-by-step instructions.  Our processing time is as fast as one business day and we do provide FedEx return shipping at no additional cost.

If the country requesting your documents is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, then your documents will require Embassy or Consulate legalization services. Documents destined for non-Hague Apostille countries will either require two or three steps to complete.  Our knowledgeable staff can provide you the breakdown in cost and processing time for these countries.

International Apostille Services, Inc. is the leader in document authentication services. We process documents from all 50 U.S. States including documents issued by the U.S. Federal Government.

International Apostille Order Form PDF SmallClick to download our International Apostille Order Form. Our Apostille service is fast, convenient, and saves you time and money.

Birth Certificate Apostille

Do you need an apostille on a Birth Certificate?

There are many reasons why you would be asked to obtain an apostille on a birth certificate.  If you are looking to establish dual citizenship, get married in another country, purchase or sell property in another country, inheritance,  etc… you will be asked to obtain an apostille on your birth certificate.  If you are getting married in another country and you were born in the USA, you definitely need an apostille on your birth certificate.

A birth certificate can only be apostilled from the State that issued the certificate.  For example, if your certificate was issued from the State of New York, it must be apostilled from the State of New York.  Every State has requirements on what is acceptable to the State in order to be authenticated.  For example, in the State of Virginia and Wisconsin, the State will only apostille a birth certificate issued within the past 12 months.  Other States will apostille birth certificates issued many years ago.  In the State of Florida, the birth certificate must be issued by the State and signed by the State registrar.

If you are wondering if your birth certificate qualifies for an apostille, we recommend that you mail-in the original or certified copy of the certificate to our office for processing.  If the State rejects your document or if we believe the State will not accept your document, we will contact you.  Please note that the State does not allow us to obtain documents on your behalf.  We can only assist you only with documents that you mail in to our office for processing.

Obtaining an apostille can be complicated. Don’t leave this process to untrained employees or non-professionals who do not fully understand the Apostille process and the unique requirements of certain countries. Your paperwork could be rejected costing you time and money. Don’t let this happen to you.

International Apostille Order Form PDF SmallClick to download our International Apostille Order Form. Our Apostille service is fast, convenient, and saves you time and money.

Birth Certificate Apostille

Do you need an Apostille for your Birth Certificate?

If you plan to live, work, get married in, or buy/sell property in another country, you maybe asked to have your Birth Certificate Apostilled.  The purpose of this request is to ensure that your documents are authenticated and validated for international use by the Secretary of State or the US Government.

There are currently 105 countries who are members of the Hague Apostille Convention.  This means that if the country you plan to send your documents to are a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, the Secretary of State will issue an Apostille for the documents.  If not, a certificate will be issued.

You’ll need to send us the original or a certified copy of the original.  If you can’t find your Birth Certificate, you can either contact the state which issued the document or the county clerk’s office for assistants.  In order to save time and money, I recommend ordering your birth certificate through VitalChek http://www.vitalchek.com .

We can process Birth Certificates from all 50 US States including the District of Columbia (DC).  Once we receive your documents, we’ll authenticate it through the Secretary of State’s office and overnight the documents back to your location.  Our fee includes next business morning delivery of your documents.  There is an additional shipping fee for international delivery.

International Apostille Order Form PDF SmallClick to download our International Apostille Order Form. Our Apostille service is fast, convenient, and saves you time and money.