We prepare, submit and track federal documents through the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications — DD-214s, IRS Form 6166, SSA letters, FBI background checks, naturalization certificates and federal court records. Drop off in West Palm Beach, or order online from anywhere in the country.
Federal & state documents
Most apostille companies work with state-issued records — birth certificates, diplomas, state court filings — which authenticate through a Secretary of State. We work with documents issued by federal agencies and federal courts. Those authenticate in Washington, D.C., through the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications, and the process is different at every step.
That distinction decides where your document goes, what has to be certified before it gets there, and whether an apostille is enough or your destination requires embassy legalization on top.
Documents we handle
Thirty-five federal document types across twenty-six agencies. These are the six we see most often — each has its own requirements, and some carry legal restrictions worth knowing before you send anything.
View All 35Identity History Summary, for visas, residency, licensing and adoption abroad. We can obtain the report for you.
Discharge papers and service records from the National Personnel Records Center. Requires federal certification first.
Certification of U.S. tax residency, used for treaty benefits, foreign banking and withholding relief.
Benefit verification and award letters, required for retirement visas and foreign pension transfers.
Federal law restricts photocopying these. We handle them through the USCIS procedure — never by copying.
Judgments, orders and clerk-certified filings from U.S. District and Bankruptcy Courts.
Describe what you have and where it is going. We will tell you which path applies — even if the answer means you do not need us.
What we do
Federal authentication is rarely a single step. Depending on the document and the destination, it can involve retrieval, certification, translation and embassy legalization on either side of the apostille itself.
Authentication through the Office of Authentications for Hague Convention member countries.
Identity History Summary obtained through an approved channel, apostilled in the same order.
For non-Hague destinations like the UAE, Qatar, Vietnam, Egypt and Taiwan.
Sworn and certified translation coordinated where the receiving authority requires it.
How it works
Federal authentication runs on a fixed sequence. Skipping or reversing a step is the single most common reason documents come back unprocessed.
Send the document details and the destination country. We confirm whether it authenticates federally, and whether an apostille or full embassy legalization is required.
Drop it off in West Palm Beach, or ship it with tracking from anywhere in the country. We check it against Department of State requirements before it moves.
Your file goes to the Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C. We monitor it and tell you where it stands rather than making you chase it.
The completed apostille ships back with tracking, to you or directly to a recipient abroad. Originals are never separated from the certificate.
Destinations
Hague Convention members accept an apostille on its own. Everywhere else needs Department of State authentication followed by legalization at that country's embassy or consulate — a longer path we handle the same way.
West Palm Beach
Our public office. If you are in West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Jupiter, Wellington or Palm Beach Gardens, bring your documents in and we will review them with you on the spot.
Washington, D.C.
Our processing office sits steps from the U.S. Department of State authentication corridor on Connecticut Avenue. This is a back-office location — not a walk-in counter — where files are prepared and submitted.
All 50 states
Federal documents authenticate in Washington, D.C. regardless of which state you live in. Start online, ship your document to us with tracking, and we handle the rest.
Questions
A federal document is issued by a U.S. government agency or a federal court — the FBI, IRS, SSA, USCIS, the Department of Defense, a U.S. District Court. Those authenticate through the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. Documents issued by a state — birth certificates, marriage licenses, state court records, diplomas — go through that state's Secretary of State instead. Send us the document details and we will tell you which route yours takes.
It depends entirely on the destination country. If the country is a member of the 1961 Hague Convention, an apostille from the U.S. Department of State is sufficient on its own. If it is not a member — the UAE, Qatar, Vietnam, Egypt and Taiwan among others — the document needs Department of State authentication first, followed by legalization at that country's embassy or consulate. Tell us where the document is going and we will confirm the correct path.
Processing time at the Office of Authentications is set by the Department of State and moves with their workload, so we do not publish a fixed turnaround we cannot control. What we do control is everything on either side of it: documents reviewed before submission, tracked shipping both directions, and status updates while your file is in Washington. We give you a current estimate when you place the order.
For some documents, yes. We can retrieve FBI background checks, DD-214 and military records from the National Personnel Records Center, CRBAs, NARA records, USCIS immigration files and I-94 travel records. Others — IRS forms, SSA letters, court documents — must be requested by you directly from the issuing agency, and we will tell you exactly how.
No — and be cautious of anyone who says otherwise. Federal law restricts reproduction of naturalization and citizenship certificates. The correct procedure runs through USCIS, and we handle these documents under that procedure rather than by copying the certificate.
Yes, nationwide. Because federal documents authenticate in Washington, D.C. rather than in your home state, where you live makes no difference to the process. Clients across all 50 states ship documents to our West Palm Beach office and we return the completed apostille with tracking, to them or directly to a recipient overseas.
Pricing depends on the document type, the number of documents, the destination country, and whether embassy legalization or certified translation is involved. Send us the details and you will get a flat quote covering government fees, our service and return shipping — no line items added later.
Tell us what you have and where it is going. We reply with the correct route, a flat quote and shipping instructions.
