Which documents can receive an Apostille, and which cannot?
State-issued documents: the most common Apostille category
Documents issued or authenticated by a U.S. state qualify for a state Apostille through the relevant Secretary of State. This includes: certified birth, marriage, and death certificates from the state vital records office; notarized Powers of Attorney, affidavits, and sworn statements; diplomas and academic transcripts notarized by a school official or Notary; court-issued documents such as divorce decrees and judgments; corporate documents including articles of incorporation and certificates of good standing; and single-status or no-record letters.
Federal documents: a separate Apostille path
Documents issued by U.S. federal agencies do not go through a state Secretary of State - they require authentication by the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. Federal documents that commonly need Apostilles include: FBI background checks and identity history summaries, USCIS naturalization certificates and Certificates of Citizenship, NARA (National Archives) records, U.S. Department of Education records, and other documents bearing a federal official's signature. Sending a federal document to a state Secretary of State will result in rejection and lost time.
Documents that do not qualify for an Apostille
Several categories of documents are not eligible for Apostille: uncertified photocopies and unofficial prints (certified originals are required); vital records that were notarized when they should have been submitted as issued (a Notary Seal on a birth certificate does not make it eligible for Apostille in the same way a certified copy would be); purely private contracts signed only by private parties without notarization or government involvement; and documents issued in a foreign country (which must be authenticated in their country of origin, not the U.S.).
The document must bear the correct official signature or seal
An Apostille authenticates the signature or seal of the official who signed or certified the document. For a notarized document, the Notary's signature and seal must be valid and current. For vital records, the registrar's certification must be intact. For court documents, the clerk's seal is required. Any document missing the relevant official signature or seal - or with an expired Notary commission - will be rejected before the Apostille is issued.
What tends to go wrong
- Sending a federal document (FBI background check, USCIS certificate) to a state Secretary of State
- Submitting a photocopy of a vital record instead of a certified copy
- Notarizing a vital record that should be submitted as a certified copy from the issuing agency
- Submitting a document with an expired Notary commission or incorrect Notary venue
- Assuming a foreign-issued document can receive a U.S. Apostille (it cannot)
- Sending a document to the wrong Secretary of State (documents must match the issuing state)
When to call us:
Call Gold Coast Notary if you are unsure whether your document qualifies, which authority it routes through, or whether it needs notarization first. Our Apostille Agents review the document type, issuing authority, and destination-country requirements before anything is submitted - that review is part of every order, not an add-on.