Federal Apostille

What a federal apostille is

An apostille is a certificate that authenticates a public document for use in another country. Under the 1961 Hague Convention, a document carrying an apostille from one member country is accepted in all the others without any further legalization. For a document issued by a U.S. federal agency, that apostille comes from a single place: the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C.

This service covers the full process — reviewing your document, preparing it, submitting it to the Department of State, and returning the apostilled original to you or a recipient abroad.

Which documents this applies to

This is for federal documents going to a Hague Convention member country. That includes FBI background checks, DD-214 and military records, IRS documents such as Form 6166, Social Security letters, naturalization and citizenship certificates, federal court records, and documents from agencies like the USDA, FDA, USPTO and FAA. If your destination is not a Hague member, you need embassy legalization instead.

How it works

1. Tell us the document and the destination country. We confirm it authenticates federally and that the country accepts an apostille.
2. Send us the document — drop off in West Palm Beach or ship with tracking from anywhere in the U.S.
3. We review it against Department of State requirements and arrange any certification the issuing agency requires first.
4. We submit it to the Office of Authentications and monitor its progress.
5. The apostilled document ships back to you with tracking, originals intact.

What is included

• The U.S. Department of State authentication fee.
• Document review before submission, so nothing is rejected over a fixable error.
• Federal notarial certification arranged where the agency requires it.
• Tracked shipping within the United States.

Documents going abroad can add tracked international return for a flat $99. If your document also needs a certified translation, we can coordinate that in the same order.