How it works
From your hands to authenticated and back
Federal authentication runs on a fixed sequence. Skipping or reversing a step is the single most common reason documents come back unprocessed. Here is the whole path, start to finish.
Tell us what you have
Send the document details and the destination country, through the form or by phone. We confirm three things right away: whether it authenticates federally or through a state, whether it needs any certification before submission, and whether your destination country takes an apostille or requires full embassy legalization. If it turns out you do not need us, we tell you that too.
Send the document
Drop it off at our West Palm Beach office, or ship it to us with tracking from anywhere in the country. Before anything moves, we check the document against current Department of State requirements — the right form, the right certification, no missing signatures or seals. Catching a problem here costs you a day. Catching it after submission costs weeks.
Certification, if required
Some federal documents need an intermediate step before the Department of State will authenticate them. A DD-214 may need certification from the issuing records center. A document may need federal notarial certification. Where that applies, we arrange it. Where it does not, we skip straight to submission.
We submit and track
Your file goes to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C. Our processing office is minutes away. We monitor the submission and tell you where it stands, rather than leaving you to wonder. Processing time is set by the Department and moves with their workload; we give you a current estimate when the order is placed.
Embassy legalization, if needed
If your destination is not a Hague Convention member, an apostille alone will not be accepted. After the Department of State authenticates the document, we carry it to that country's embassy or consulate for the final legalization step. This applies to countries like the UAE, Qatar, Vietnam, Egypt and Taiwan.
Authenticated document returns to you
The completed apostille or legalized document ships back with tracking — to you, or directly to a recipient abroad if that is what your situation needs. Originals are never separated from the authentication certificate. The document arrives ready to use.
Ready to start?
Tell us what you have and where it is going. We reply with the correct route, a flat quote and shipping instructions.