Apostille and consular legalization of documents in the United States of America

Schmidt & Schmidt covers the full spectrum of apostille and consular legalization services for public documents issued in the United States of America. We work with documents from all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and from all federal agencies — including the FBI, the IRS, USCIS, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the FDA and the federal courts. Our clients receive a single point of contact in Europe and never need to travel to the United States themselves.

The United States has been a member of the Hague Conference on Private International Law since 15 October 1964 and is a party to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, which entered into force for the United States on 15 October 1981. Today, the Convention has more than 125 Contracting Parties. For all of them, a U.S. document certified with an apostille is recognised without any further authentication.

The apostille, or the “Hague apostille” is a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document (e.g., a birth, marriage or death certificate, a judgment, an extract of a register or a notarial attestation). It confirms the authenticity of the signature and the authority of an official who signed the public document.

If your destination country is not a party to the Convention — or if there is a bilateral exception — the document must instead go through full consular legalization at the embassy or consulate of the destination country in Washington, D.C. We handle both routes.

Designated competent apostille authorities in the USA

The United States is unusual in that there is no single national authority for apostilles. Depending on the issuer of the underlying document, the apostille must be obtained from a different body. Sending the document to the wrong authority is the single most common cause of rejection — which is why we always confirm the correct route before submission.

The following U.S. documents can be authenticated by apostille:

Personal documents

• Birth, marriage, death and divorce certificates, certificates of no impediment to marriage, single status affidavits;
• FBI Identity History Summary and state-level criminal background checks;
• Adoption decrees and related court orders;
• Powers of attorney, last wills, certificates of inheritance and other notarial deeds;
• Notarised copies of passports, driver’s licences and other ID documents.

Educational documents

• High school diplomas and transcripts;
• University degrees and transcripts (Bachelor’s, Master’s, doctoral);
• GED certificates;
• Course descriptions and additional certificates from schools, colleges and universities.

Commercial documents

• Certificates of Good Standing / Certificates of Existence from state business registers;
• Articles of Incorporation, Certificates of Formation, bylaws, operating agreements;
• Certified copies of state amendments, annual reports, mergers and dissolutions;
• IRS Form 6166 (Certification of U.S. Tax Residency);
• Bank statements and confirmations (after notarisation);
• Powers of attorney for corporate purposes;
• ISO certificates and Certificates of Free Sale;
• FDA Certificates to Foreign Government for medical devices and pharmaceuticals.

Medical documents

• Medical opinions and expert reports;
• Certificates of fitness for work or travel;
• Vaccination records (after notarisation);
• Other medical certificates issued by licensed U.S. physicians.

Documents not subject to apostille or legalization

• Documents issued by U.S. diplomatic or consular officers (with the exception of Consular Reports of Birth, Death and Marriage Abroad, which are apostilled separately by the Department of State);
• Administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations — for example, commercial invoices, bills of lading and customs declarations. These are typically certified by the local Chamber of Commerce instead;
• U.S. passports and similar identity documents containing the holder’s photograph (a notarised copy of the photo page can be apostilled);
• Documents that have been laminated, altered, or carry extraneous marks, stickers or labels.

Document requirements

The apostille can be issued only for the original document or for a notarised copy if the apostille cannot be affixed to the original (e.g. for a passport or driver’s licence). The document must be in good physical condition, with all stamps, seals and signatures clearly legible and free of any extraneous markings.

Signatures of state and county officials, as well as of notaries public, must be on file with the relevant Secretary of State; otherwise the apostille will be refused and the document returned. For vital records, most foreign authorities require a so-called “long-form” (or “vault copy”) of the certificate — short-form abstracts are commonly rejected. Where the certificate was issued by a local or county registrar (for example by the New York City Department of Health), an additional pre-certification by the County Clerk is required before the apostille can be issued.

FBI background check — apostille for international use

The FBI Identity History Summary is one of the most frequently requested U.S. documents for use abroad. Foreign employers, immigration authorities, residency programmes and adoption agencies routinely require an FBI background check with apostille. Because the FBI is a federal agency, the apostille can be issued only by the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. — never by a Secretary of State.

Schmidt & Schmidt offers a turnkey service:

1. Submission of fingerprint data to the FBI through an approved Channeler, or direct submission via the FBI’s Electronic Departmental Order (EDO) portal;
2. Receipt of the Identity History Summary in digital or printed form;
3. Apostille at the U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications;
4. Certified translation into the language of the destination country, where required;
5. Courier delivery to the client anywhere in the world.

Important: although the FBI report itself has no expiration date, many destination countries require that the apostille be no older than 3 to 6 months at the time of submission. We can also reissue and re-apostille a fresh report when validity has expired.

Obtaining a certificate of good conduct

If you need to prove your clean criminal record for reasons like adoption, school, or work abroad, you can obtain a Local Police Background Check. Simply contact your local police department, county sheriff's office, or state police, depending on where you live. Fill out a request form, provide ID, and pay any necessary fees. Once processed, you'll receive a report on your criminal record status. Keep in mind that procedures vary by location, so check with your local law enforcement for specific details.

Alternatively, for a more comprehensive check, consider the FBI background check. It covers a national level and may be required by certain organizations. Choose the option that best suits your needs based on the specific requirements of the entity requesting the information.

To authenticate a certificate of good conduct, follow the next steps:

• Visit your local police department for a criminal background check. Ensure the document is signed by an officer and notarized.
• Take the notarized document to the Secretary of State in the issuing state for an apostille. This step usually eliminates the need for additional certifications.
• Once the Secretary of State issues the apostille, your document is ready for use in the destination country.

Apostille of educational documents

U.S. diplomas, degrees, transcripts and other academic documents are issued by private institutions and are therefore not “public documents” within the meaning of the Convention. To be apostilled, they must first acquire the character of a public act through notarisation.

The standard workflow we handle for our clients is:

1. Certification of the document by the registrar of the issuing school, college or university (or production of a notarised true copy);
2. Notarisation of the registrar’s or applicant’s signature by a U.S. notary public;
3. Submission to the Secretary of State of the state in which the notarisation took place — for Hague destinations, the apostille is issued at this stage and no further authentication is needed;
4. For non-Hague destinations: forwarding to the U.S. Department of State for federal authentication, followed by legalization at the embassy of the destination country in Washington, D.C.;
5. Certified translation into the language of the destination country, where required.

Consular legalization of U.S. documents for use abroad

Where the country of destination is not a party to the Apostille Convention, the document must follow the full chain of consular legalization. We organise the entire process end-to-end, including direct submission to the relevant embassy or consulate in Washington, D.C. For a complete list of countries that accept and use apostilles, click here.

Consular legalization is the process of authenticating or certifying a legal document so a foreign country's legal system will recognize it as with full legal effect that is carried out by the diplomatic or consular mission of the country in which the document is to be used.

The typical chain for a U.S. document is:

1. Notarisation of the document (for private documents);
2. Authentication by the Secretary of State of the issuing state;
3. Federal authentication by the U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications;
4. Legalization at the embassy or consulate of the destination country.

Common destinations requiring consular legalization

Among the destinations our clients most frequently ask about for U.S. documents are the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Vietnam (until the Convention enters into force in 2026), Taiwan, Cuba, and several African states. Each embassy has its own fee structure, document checklist and processing time.

The main differences between an apostille and consular legalization of documents

The common feature between apostille and consular legalization is that they authenticate an official document for presentation to institutions in another country. However, they have many differences.

Apostille and consular legalization in all 50 U.S. states

Schmidt & Schmidt provides apostille and consular legalization services for public documents originating from all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. territories and from all federal agencies. We handle the entire process — including coordination with state Secretaries of State, the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications, federal court clerks and foreign embassies in Washington, D.C. With our service, you do not need to travel to the United States, deal with separate state procedures or visit any embassy in person.

Procurement of documents in the USA

If your important documents have been lost or damaged, or if a current copy is required, we can procure a new original directly from the issuing U.S. authority. People living outside the United States often face significant practical difficulties when trying to deal with U.S. state and federal authorities remotely — fragmented state systems, in-person identification requirements and the absence of European-style central registries make this a complex task.

Our consultants procure documents in the USA on your behalf, arrange for their apostille or legalization, and deliver the result by international courier anywhere in the world. We regularly procure:

• Birth, marriage, death and divorce certificates (long-form / vault copies) from any U.S. state;
• FBI Identity History Summaries through approved Channelers;
• Single status / no-record-of-marriage affidavits;
• Certificates of Good Standing, Articles of Incorporation and other corporate documents from any state business register;
• Certified copies of court records;
• IRS Form 6166 (Certification of U.S. Tax Residency).

Certified translation of U.S. documents

U.S. documents are issued in English. For use in most countries, a certified translation by a sworn translator is required, often in addition to the apostille or legalization. Some destination countries also require that the translation itself be notarised and separately apostilled (a “double apostille”).

We work with qualified sworn translators in Germany and worldwide and offer certified translations of U.S. documents into more than 50 languages, including German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Turkish and many others. The cost of translation is calculated according to the volume of the document.

Does the translation have to be apostilled?

Any foreign document issued in one country and required for use in another country must be legalized. U.S. civil status and educational documents typically need to be translated by a sworn translator into the language of the destination country, and the translation itself may need to be either notarised, certified by a court, or in some cases apostilled. We assess the specific requirements of the receiving authority and prepare the right combination of certifications.

Additional services

Should you require company information for use in court, it needs to be legalized as well. We are therefore offering extracts from the commercial register of the United States including the apostille certification and translation into the language of the document's state of destination.