Whether you're in Ohio, Dubai or a village outside Manila, the rules are the same and they're federal. Answer three taps and see your exact route — every office, in order, with the timeline and the price.
An apostille is a certificate that makes a United States document legally valid abroad under the 1961 Hague Convention. US apostilles are issued by the Secretary of State of the state that issued the document, or by the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC for federal documents such as FBI background checks, USCIS certificates and IRS Form 6166. Countries outside the Convention — including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Vietnam and Thailand — instead require embassy (consular) legalization. This page covers both, for every US state and for people living anywhere in the world.
That single certificate is the apostille. Around 130 countries accept it.
Each office verifies the seal of the one before it, so the order can never be shortened.
Straight answers first
An apostille is a certificate attached to a US document that makes it legally valid in another country under the 1961 Hague Convention. It's issued by the Secretary of State of the state where the document originated, or by the US Department of State for federal documents. Once a document carries an apostille, the receiving country accepts it with no further steps.
Countries that never joined the Hague Convention — the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Vietnam, Thailand and others — don't accept apostilles. Their documents travel a longer chain: notary (if applicable) → Secretary of State → US Department of State → that country's embassy or consulate in the United States. Each office verifies the seal of the one before it, so the order can never be changed or shortened.
Federal (US Department of State, Washington DC): FBI background checks, USCIS naturalization and citizenship certificates, NARA records, Social Security letters, IRS Form 6166, FDA and USDA certificates, and documents notarized at US embassies abroad.
State (Secretary of State): birth, marriage, death and divorce records, diplomas and transcripts, powers of attorney and affidavits, corporate documents — anything issued or notarized inside one state. It must go to that state, no other.
Two honest options
Both are legitimate. The difference is who absorbs the risk when an office says no — and how many weeks that costs you.
Fine if your deadline is soft and your document is simple
The right call if a visa, job, closing or court date depends on it
The honest overview
No secrets here — this is the shape of the work, so you can judge whether to take it on. What changes constantly is the operational detail: current forms, fee amounts, consulate submission days, jurisdiction assignments and the exact wording each state accepts. That's the part that gets documents rejected, and it's the part we keep current for a living.
One authority: the U.S. Department of State. You submit the document exactly as issued, with the federal request form and fee, then wait out the mail queue — roughly 5–8 weeks with no tracking. A Washington walk-in window exists, with strict early-morning hours and a daily document limit.
Everything goes to the Secretary of State of the issuing state — never a different one. Vital records need a current certified copy, not a photocopy. Notarized documents need wording that state accepts, and in Georgia, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kentucky and Hawaii a county or court clerk must certify the notary first.
Four offices in a fixed order, each verifying the seal of the one before it. The embassy step is the strictest: its own form, its own accepted payment type, its own submission days, and for some countries a specific consulate by jurisdiction rather than the one in Washington. Some also add a ministry stamp after the document lands in-country.
The chain still runs inside the US — distance changes nothing. A US embassy abroad cannot issue an apostille. Documents can be shipped, records ordered from the issuing state, and anything needing a signature can be notarized online by a US-commissioned notary from anywhere in the world.
From anywhere in the world
Most of the people we serve aren't in Washington — or in the United States at all. The document travels; you don't.
Remote online notarization with a US-commissioned notary, valid worldwide, followed by the physical apostille obtained here in the US.
Birth, marriage, death and divorce certificates ordered from the issuing state; FBI reports arranged; university documents certified at the registrar.
Tracked international courier to Dubai, Madrid, Manila, Bogotá or wherever you are — with sworn translation added when the receiving authority requires it.
Coverage
Washington DC, Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland — mobile notary and walk-in filings, same-day possible in DC.
A notary meets you locally, then the document routes through our Washington office.
Ship-in service to the correct Secretary of State, typically 5–10 business days, couriered back to you. See state-by-state processing times.
FBI background checks · naturalization and citizenship certificates · NARA records · Social Security letters · IRS Form 6166 · FDA and USDA certificates · birth, marriage, death and divorce certificates · triple-seal county records · diplomas and transcripts · powers of attorney and affidavits · single-status letters · child travel consents · articles of incorporation · certificates of good standing · board resolutions · commercial invoices and certificates of origin.
Spain, Mexico, Italy, Colombia, Brazil, India, China, the Philippines, Germany, Poland, Ukraine and the rest of the Hague list — plus embassy legalization for the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Vietnam, Thailand, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and other non-Hague destinations.
Why we take this seriously
Every document that crosses our desk is a piece of somebody's life waiting on a stamp.
A nurse whose hospital contract in Riyadh starts in three weeks. A father assembling a child travel consent so his daughter can meet her grandmother. A couple whose wedding date in Italy is already printed on the invitations. A widow who needs a death certificate legalized before a pension in Manila will pay out. A founder whose Dubai license can't be issued until the articles of incorporation come back attested.
None of them woke up wanting to learn what a Certificate of Official Character is. They just need the thing to work — on time, the first time. That's why we publish the whole process for free, why we check documents for people who will never hire us, and why we walk each file into the office ourselves rather than trusting it to a queue.
Get it right, and you never think about it again. Get it wrong, and it's five weeks, a missed date, and a phone call nobody wants to make. Everything on this page is built to keep you on the first side of that line.
DC Mobile Notary™ · serving all 50 states and 90+ countries since 2016 · 100,000+ documents processed
If you'd rather not do it yourself
FBI · USCIS · NARA · SSA · IRS · FDA
All 50 states · DC, VA, MD walk-in
UAE · Qatar · Kuwait · Vietnam · Thailand
*Same or next day applies to DC, Virginia and Maryland and depends on daily demand and office availability — call to confirm before sending. Other states: 5–10 business days ship-in. Government and embassy fees are charged by the authority and paid by DC Mobile Notary™ on your behalf. Triple-seal county record pulls from $195, varying by county or city. Timelines are typical, not guaranteed. Ordering regularly? Business accounts start at 10% off; firms reselling under their own brand use our white label partner program.
See what your neighbors are saying about our services
This service is amazing! I wish I had known about it sooner. I had a document to be used abroad that needed to be notarized AND needed an apostille. It’s not so hard to find a notary but for anything more complicated, Aziz can get it done with a minimum of effort on the client’s part. He picked up the document, handled the legalizations process and returned the document to me. And in less than 24 hours! The consulate, which was my only other option had a ridiculous wait time to even get an appointment, not to mention they were going to charge me three times what Aziz did. His rates are reasonable and he is super-professional and efficient! He saved me so much time and navigated the whole process seamlessly for me. I highly recommend him and will no doubt be calling on him again in the future.
DC Mobile Notary was fantastic. Super easy to schedule and super flexible. Best prices I found as well. Danyar was quick, efficient, and super friendly. I’d absolutely use them again!
I was impressed with this company from start to finish, and I will definitely go to them again when I need a notary.First, it was super easy to set up the three appointments that I needed; the receptionist was able to confirm the appointments while I was on the phone with her. Second, the notary showed up right on time for all appointments, even in one city location during rush hour and where finding street parking was challenging. Even when I needed to change the location of one appointment at the last minute (from a Starbucks that wasn't open yet to a nearby restaurant), it was easy to reach the notary himself and work out the change with him. Third, the two notaries I dealt with were both professional in appearance and manner. Finally, company can cover DC, MD, and VA where I do business, and their price is reasonable.I'm very grateful that the paperwork went smoothly and was done properly. I'm a new fan of DC Mobile Notary.
Aziz of DC MOBILE Notary was incredibly patient, knowledgeable, friendly, and reliable with regard to services we needed to authenticate educational documents for use abroad. I will no hesitate to utilize his services again. In today's world of everything automated and voice bots, Aziz was a breath of fresh air, answers calls and emails without delays and works on finding solutions for his clients. Thanks Aziz.
Everything we do, by issuing authority
Questions we answer every day
It depends only on the destination country. Hague Convention members accept an apostille — a single certificate. Non-members such as the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Vietnam and Thailand require consular legalization ending at their embassy in the US. The router at the top of this page tells you which applies to your exact document and country.
Yes, and you don't need to travel. US apostilles are issued only inside the US, but documents can be shipped, records ordered from the issuing state, and anything requiring a signature can be notarized online by a US-commissioned notary from anywhere in the world. A US embassy abroad cannot issue an apostille.
Mailing it yourself typically takes 5–8 weeks with no tracking. Hand-carried expedited service through us is about 9 business days; our standard service is about 3 weeks. See the federal apostille page for the full process.
No — never. The Department of State rejects notarized federal documents. Submit the digitally signed PDF exactly as the FBI issued it. If you don't have a report yet, live scan fingerprinting through an approved channeler usually returns one in 24–48 hours.
In states such as Georgia, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kentucky and Hawaii, the Secretary of State won't apostille a notarized document until a county or court clerk certifies that the notary's commission is valid. Skipping it is the most common reason notarized documents come back unprocessed.
Yes. Nationwide we order certified copies from the issuing state's vital records office. In DC, Virginia and Maryland we pull marriage, divorce and triple-seal county records directly at the courthouse and expedite them into your order.
Often yes — many receiving authorities require a certified or sworn translation attached to the apostilled original. Spain, for example, generally requires a sworn (jurada) translation. We can bundle certified translation with the apostille so both arrive together and match.
Government fees themselves are modest. The costs people underestimate are time — mail-in queues run weeks at every office — and rejection, which restarts the chain and usually forfeits any embassy fee already paid. Send us the document and we'll tell you free whether your case is simple enough to self-file.
Use the router, follow the free guide, or send a photo and let a specialist confirm the route within 24 hours. Wherever you are in the world, the next step is the same one.
support@dcmobilenotary.com · mail documents to 5315 Langston Blvd, Suite B, Arlington, VA 22207 · serving all 50 states and clients worldwide
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