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 Ohio apostilles for certificates of birth, marriage, divorce and death, articles of incorporation, powers of attorney and academic records are issues by the Apostilles & Certifications - Ohio Secretary of State

Processing Time:

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• Walk-in: Same Day
• Mail: 2-3 Days

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Cost: $5 Regular

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Where:

In the State of Ohio, apostilles are issued by the Client Service Center in Columbus.

Documents submitted for apostille need to comply with the following guidelines:

• They must be notarized by a currently commissioned Ohio notary public.
• If the notary public is an attorney with a commission that does not expire, you don’t need to obtain a certificate from the County Clerk and the document can be apostilled directly at the SOS.
• Because the Secretary of State now has all the notary signatures on record for verification, it no longer requires signatures to be certified by the County Clerk.
• For apostille on virtual records such as birth and death certificates you need certified copies issued and signed by the Registrar from the Ohio Department of Health with a raised/embossed seal.
• To apostille marriage licenses or certificates you need certified copies signed by the judge and bearing the seal of the probate court.
• To obtain apostille for school records issued by universities and other educational institutions in Ohio, you need notarized documents including an affidavit signed by a school official, principal or University registrar before a notary public.
• To apostille divorce decrees and judgments you need certified copies bearing the seal of the county clerk.

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How:

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Apostille/Authentication requests should be mailed to our office or submitted in person.  Mailed documents are processed within two to three business days.  If timing does not permit mailing a request, please schedule an appointment to deliver the request to our Client Service Center.In order to process your request, a cover letter issued by this office must accompany your request.  The destination country must be named on the cover letter.  For the cover letter to use with your request, click her

Requests can be mailed to the following address:

Ohio Secretary of State

Client Service Center

22 North Fourth Street

Columbus, OH 43215

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