How to Get an Apostille in Wisconsin

Educational information, not legal advice. Fees, addresses and processing times reflect the Wisconsin Secretary of State and can change. Confirm current details on the official sos.wi.gov page before you mail anything.

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Who issues apostilles in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin has two competent authorities that can issue apostilles, which almost no other state does: the Secretary of State in the Capitol Building in Madison, and the Department of Financial Institutions. For a document going to a Hague Convention country, either authority can issue the apostille and both are equally valid, so the practical question is which one currently has the shorter queue for your document type. For a non-Hague country, only the Secretary of State can issue the authentication certificate. The traditional route is the Secretary of State, which handles every document type and both Hague and non-Hague destinations, while the Department of Financial Institutions was added as a second lane to ease backlogs. A private document such as a power of attorney must be notarized by a Wisconsin notary first, and electronic notarizations are not accepted.

How much does a Wisconsin apostille cost?

A Wisconsin apostille costs $10 per document for standard service or $35 per document for expedited service, and the fee is per certificate the office issues, so a multi-page document counts once. Payment is by cash, check, or money order made payable to the Wisconsin Secretary of State; the office does not accept credit cards, which surprises people expecting to pay online. If you need to split an order across both speeds, you submit a separate order form for each request. As always, the state fee is separate from any private service charge, and you should confirm the current fees before submitting, since amounts can change.

How long does a Wisconsin apostille take?

A Wisconsin apostille takes about 7 to 10 or more business days for standard service and roughly 1 to 3 business days for expedited service, in both cases counted from the day the office receives your documents and not including shipping in either direction. You begin the order through the state's online portal and pay there, then mail your documents with a prepaid return envelope, or arrange to pick them up in person at the Capitol in Madison. In-person submissions are often the fastest path when a deadline is tight. Because the two authorities can have different queues, checking current processing times before you choose can save days.

Which Wisconsin authority should you use?

For a Hague Convention destination such as Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany or Canada, you can use either the Secretary of State or the Department of Financial Institutions, and the apostille each issues is accepted the same way abroad. The deciding factor is usually current turnaround and document type, so it is worth checking both before you send. For a country that is not part of the Hague Convention, the choice is made for you: only the Secretary of State issues the authentication certificate those countries require, and the document then continues to that country's embassy or consulate for legalization. Corporate documents, which are common given Wisconsin's business filings, are handled by both authorities for Hague destinations.

Can Wisconsin apostille an FBI background check?

No, Wisconsin cannot apostille an FBI background check, because it is a federal document authenticated by the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. Sending a federal report to Madison means it comes back unprocessed. The Wisconsin Secretary of State authenticates documents issued or notarized in Wisconsin, such as a Wisconsin birth certificate from a county register of deeds or the state vital records office, or a power of attorney notarized by a Wisconsin notary. Federal paperwork and other states' documents each have their own authority.

By the Trámites Notariales US editorial team. Sources: Wisconsin Secretary of State, Apostilles & Authentications (sos.wi.gov). Confirm both the fee and the mailing address are current before you proceed.