How to Apostille a Birth Certificate

Educational information, not legal advice. State fees, offices and processing times vary and can change. Confirm current details with the issuing state's official apostille page before you mail anything.

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Birth certificate apostille fee finder by state

Select the state that issued the birth certificate; the tool shows that state's fee and links to its full apostille guide.

Who apostilles a birth certificate?

A birth certificate is apostilled by the state that issued it, through that state's Secretary of State or the equivalent office, and this holds regardless of where you live today. If you were born in Ohio but now live in Florida, your birth certificate is apostilled by Ohio, not Florida, because only the issuing state can authenticate its own registrar's signature and seal. A few states use a different office rather than a Secretary of State: Utah uses the Lieutenant Governor, Hawaii and Alaska also use the Lieutenant Governor, and some states route through a specific division, but the rule of the issuing state always applies. A birth certificate from another country is apostilled by that country's competent authority, not by any U.S. office.

What kind of birth certificate do you need?

You need a recent certified copy issued by the state or county vital records office, one that carries the registrar's original signature and an official seal, because that signature is exactly what the apostille authenticates. The commemorative or souvenir certificate many hospitals hand out, often with the baby's footprints, cannot be apostilled, and neither can a plain photocopy. Order the certified copy directly from the state's vital records office or through an authorized service, and check the date, since some foreign consulates only accept a certificate issued within the past few months. A certified copy already bears the official signature and seal, so in most states no notarization is needed before the apostille, which is a common point of confusion.

How much does a birth certificate apostille cost?

The state fee for a birth certificate apostille ranges from about $1 in Michigan, the cheapest in the country, to $25 in states such as Oklahoma and South Dakota, with most states falling between $5 and $15. That figure is only the apostille fee; the certified copy from vital records is a separate cost, and any private service adds its own charge on top, which is usually the bulk of the flat rates advertised online. Use the fee finder above to see the exact apostille fee for the issuing state and to open that state's full guide, where the office address, processing time and any state-specific quirks are laid out. Confirm the current amount on the state's official page before you send payment.

How long does a birth certificate apostille take?

Timing depends entirely on the issuing state, ranging from same-day counter service in states like Tennessee or Missouri to several weeks by mail in states like Texas, where mailed requests can run up to 25 business days. In-person service, where a state offers it, is almost always the fastest route, while mail adds transit in each direction on top of the state's processing window. If you are ordering the certified copy and the apostille together, add the time to receive the certified copy first, since the apostille clock only starts once you have the record in hand. For a firm consular deadline, open the issuing state's guide from the tool above to see its exact processing options.

Can the federal government apostille a birth certificate?

No, the U.S. Department of State does not apostille a U.S. birth certificate, because a birth certificate is a state document and only the issuing state can authenticate it. This is the mirror image of the rule for FBI background checks, which are federal documents that only the Department of State can apostille and that no state office will touch. When you have both a birth certificate and an FBI report for the same application, each goes to its own authority, and you plan around the slower one. Getting this split right the first time avoids the most common cause of weeks-long delays, which is sending a document to the wrong office.

By the Trámites Notariales US editorial team. Sources: state Secretary of State and vital records offices; per-state apostille guides on this site. Verify the current cost and address directly with the office before filing.