State-Issued Apostille Requirements

State-issued documents for use in countries that are members of 1961 Hague Convention must be authenticated by the competent authority in the state where the document was executed.

A state-issued document with an apostille does not require additional certification by the U.S. Department of State or legalization by a U.S. embassy or consulate overseas to be recognized in a participating country.The U.S. Department of State will not issue an apostille for state-issued documents.

State-issued documents for use in countries that are not members of the 1961 Hague Convention may be authenticated with an authentication certificate from the U.S. Department of State. Please see Authentication Certificate Requirements for more information.

    Examples of state and local documents include:

• Birth Certificates
• Marriage Certificates
• Death Certificates
• Divorce Decrees
• Probate Wills
• Judgments

   Requirements for state and local documents include:

• Original or certified document must include the raised and/or stamped seal of the court or department of vital records.

• Must be certified by the Secretary of State from the state in which the documents were issued. The Secretary of State will certify to the official signing the document under the Seal of the State.

Other Documents

Examples of other documents include:

• Affidavits
• Agreements
• Articles of Incorporation
• Bylaws
• Commercial Invoices
• Copy of a U.S. Passport (identification page only)
• Deeds of Assignment
• Diplomas
• Home Study
• Income Verification
• Powers-of-Attorney
• Single Status
• Transcripts
• Other business documents

Requirements for other documents include:

• Must be certified with a stamp or seal by a notary public
• Must be certified by the clerk of court from the county in which the notary is commissioned
• Must be certified by the Secretary of State from the state in which the document was executed
• Documents from the District of Columbia must be certified by the Government of the District of Columbia Notarial Section
• Note: the document doesn't have to be certified by the clerk of court from the county in which the notary is commissioned if the Secretary of State will certify directly to the notary.

In the State of New Jersey apostilles for certificates of birth, marriage, divorce and death, articles of incorporation, powers of attorney and academic records

Processing Time:

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• Walk-in: Same Day
• Drop-Box: 1-2 Business Days
• Mail: 14 days regular, 8.5 days expedited

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Where:

Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services' Online Apostille/Certification Service

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Address for Mail, Drop-box or Walk-in:

Customer Service Center at 33 W State Street, Trenton, NJ 08608

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Cost: $25 Regular; $40 Expedited

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Mail or Walk-in :

This service simplifies the process of obtaining Apostille/Certifications for documents that you will be using in foreign countries. It allows you to request and pre-pay for your work online and provides you with a confirmation page that lists your order number. You will submit the confirmation page with your original documents to the Division's Customer Service Center.

To use the service, you will need to enter the following information:

• Your contact information
• The Number of documents to be submitted for Apostille/Certification
• Description of your documents
• Your Requested processing time (regular or expedited processing)
• How you like to receive your original document(s) and Apostille(s)/Certification(s); and
• Your Payment information (e-check (debit) or credit card)

Mail To complete the process, you must mail or deliver your original document(s) to the Division or drop them off at our Customer Service Center. Please note that you must make a separate request (online session) for each country where you will be presenting your document(s).

*Accelerated processing service times of 1 or 2 business hours are available as well. However, you must go to our Customer Service Center at 33 W State Street, Trenton, NJ 08608 to obtain accelerated services. Substantially higher fees apply for accelerated services.

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• Your documents will be returned to you with an affixed Apostille and/or certification to the signature page of the submitted document with staples. Please do not remove the Apostille or certification once it is attached.
• Expedited Services begin when the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services receives the original documents that require the Apostille. Note: Expedited services shall be rendered as soon as possible, but may extend beyond the expedited timeframes if the computer system utilized by the Filing Office is down, or if the Filing Office experiences other difficulties beyond its control, making expedited response impossible. In such cases, upon resuming normal operations, the Filing Office will process expedited requests on a first-in first-out basis, in the following priority order: one business-hour; two business-hour; same day; and 8.5 business hours. Expedited requests will be given priority over mail-in requests.
• Warning: If you use Priority Express Mail or certified mail from the United States Postal Service, note that the USPS does not deliver to or pick up directly from our office. We treat requests received via Priority or Express Mail from the USPS as regular mail and the regular mail processing time applies to all such requests. Regular mail delivery time may take up to 15 days from mail in date to date of receipt.

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