Apostille Assistance
Serving Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa, Queen Creek and Apache Junction, Arizona
A document going abroad usually needs more than a notary stamp: it needs the state to certify that the notary was real. That certification is an apostille, and getting one is a courier job with rules that are easy to get wrong.
The Arizona Secretary of State issues apostilles for documents notarized in Arizona. Which certificate you need depends on the destination: countries in the Hague Apostille Convention take an apostille, and countries outside it need a certificate of authentication followed by legalization at that country's consulate.
The usual pieces are powers of attorney for property abroad, single-status affidavits for marriage overseas, corporate documents, adoption paperwork, school transcripts and diplomas. Each one has to be notarized correctly first, because a rejected notarization means the whole trip to Phoenix was wasted.
Vital records are the exception worth knowing about before you pay for anything: a birth certificate, death certificate or marriage certificate cannot be notarized as a copy in Arizona. What gets apostilled is a certified copy issued by the office that holds the record, and the apostille goes on that.
The service here is the notarization plus the running: preparing the submission, delivering it to the Secretary of State, and returning the finished document. Turnaround depends on the state's queue, not on us, and the honest estimate is given before any money changes hands.
What to have ready
- The document itself, complete and unsigned until the appointment
- The destination country, which decides apostille versus authentication
- Certified copies from the issuing office for anything that is a vital record
- The exact name spelling the receiving country expects
Who books this
- Anyone marrying, working or studying abroad
- Families with property or inheritance overseas
- Companies filing documents in another country
- International adoptions
Questions
- Can you apostille my birth certificate?
- Not a photocopy of it. Arizona notaries cannot certify copies of vital records. Order a certified copy from the vital records office that issued it, and the apostille goes on that certified copy.
- How long does an apostille take?
- It depends on the Secretary of State's current processing time rather than anything on this end. You will be given the real estimate before booking, not an optimistic one.
- What if the country is not in the Hague Convention?
- Then you need a certificate of authentication from the state, followed by legalization at that country's embassy or consulate. Tell us the destination and the route gets planned before the first stamp.
Apostille Assistance by city
Related services
- Power of attorney — Financial and health care powers of attorney, notarized where the signer is, with the witnesses Arizona requires.
- Estate planning documents — Notarization for the full estate planning packet at your kitchen table, your attorney's office, or wherever the family can gather.
- Vehicle and title documents — Title transfers, bonded title applications, lien releases and out-of-state paperwork, notarized where the car is.