Apostilles and authentications for U.S. documents used abroad — routed to the right Secretary of State or to the U.S. Department of State, checked before submission, and returned tracked.
Online intake is open any hour — or call (800) 321-2377.
Free quote, no obligation. The form asks for the destination country, how many documents and where to send them back — add what each document is and which state issued it. Prefer email? info@served123.com
The order form asks for the destination country, the document count and a return address. It doesn’t ask what you’re apostilling or where it was issued — and those two answers decide the entire route. Put them in with your order and the quote comes back in one pass instead of three emails.
Not sure what you’ve got? Describe it and we’ll work it out — that’s part of the job. The point of asking is to catch a problem before a document is posted to a government office, not after.
Apostille work goes wrong one step earlier than people expect — not at the apostille, but at the document underneath it. Here is what each route needs and what it produces.
A certified copy from the issuing state’s vital records office — recent, because many destinations reject old copies. Not the hospital souvenir certificate.
The record with the apostille attached by that state’s Secretary of State, returned tracked. Where a fresh certified copy is needed first, we arrange it.
The notarised original. The apostille follows the notary, so it goes to the state where the notarisation happened — and the commission has to have been valid on the day.
The document apostilled through that state. If it needs county-clerk certification of the notary first — several states require it — that step is handled rather than discovered.
The entity name and state of registration. Certified copies usually have to come from the Secretary of State rather than your own file copy.
Certified copies obtained and apostilled in one pass, in the order a foreign registrar or distributor typically asks for them.
The federal document itself. FBI Identity History Summaries can be obtained through a channeler first if you don’t have one yet — say so and it’s handled as one job.
The document apostilled by the U.S. Department of State — the only authority that can certify a federal document — and returned tracked.
The destination country. That single answer decides whether one certificate finishes the job or whether a consulate step follows.
The U.S. side completed — state certification where needed, then Department of State authentication — and the package prepared for that country’s embassy or consulate, with a referral for the legalisation step.
Anything the consulate, registrar or employer has told you they want. Some require a certified translation, some require it apostilled too, some want it done in a specific order.
The sequence worked out before anything is submitted. Where the requirement is one only the destination can answer, we’ll tell you that plainly rather than guess and cost you a round trip.
A decision on the fix once we’ve told you what was flagged.
The exact reason in plain terms — an expired commission, a missing county certification, the wrong kind of copy — and what it takes to correct it, with any further cost quoted before it’s spent.
Timing belongs to the issuing authority, not to us. Secretary of State and Department of State processing windows move with their backlogs, so we quote against what they’re actually running when you order rather than printing a number here that ages. Put your real deadline on the form and we’ll tell you whether it’s achievable. Full apostille FAQ.
People are often surprised by this one, and it's better to know before you order than after a foreign office hands the document back.
The destination decides. A correctly issued apostille is what the receiving country asked the United States to provide — but the consulate, registrar, court or employer at the other end sets its own requirements on top, and those change without telling anyone here. Where you’ve been given instructions, send them with the order and the work is built around them.
More detail in the full apostille FAQ, or email info@served123.com.
Destination, what the document is, and which state it came from. We'll confirm the route, flag any prep, and quote the scope and the fee retainer in writing before anything is submitted.
This page is informational and is not legal advice. Served 123 LLC is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or representation; results are not guaranteed. An apostille or authentication certifies a signature, the capacity of the signer and the identity of a seal — it does not certify the contents of a document, and it does not oblige any foreign authority to accept it. Requirements vary by destination country, document type and issuing authority, and destinations may impose their own rules on recency, format, translation and supporting documents. Processing times belong to the issuing Secretary of State or the U.S. Department of State and move with their backlogs; timing is quoted at intake against current processing. Authority and shipping fees are handled through a separate retainer, drawn down against actual charges and reconciled after the work, and are not part of the service fee.
