Apostille from Secretary of State certifies personal and commercial documents. All of its documents are $65 plus a $15 notarization fee. Most documents are typically authenticated within two or three business days. The documents that the Apostille from Secretary of State covers include transcripts, diplomas, company documents and power of attorneys. The Secretary of State is not super-involved in foreign affairs.
However, they are part of the process in authenticating business agreements for those looking to open locations in foreign countries. They also include marriage and birth certificates for some states. However, their specialty seems to be commercial agreements. Secretary of State authentication is also the first step in the chain authentication process.
The Secretary of State is not heavily involved in documents from U.S. federal agencies such as background checks, naturalization, or IRS documents. The U.S. Department of State typically handles those. However, the Secretary of State does handle some federal Apostilles for a fee of $8.00 plus $47.00 for the service fee. Those are typically ready within four to five business days.
The Apostille Secretary of State is affiliated in Washington D.C. and is a part of the process that helps to get legal documents authenticated quickly. In fact, getting all of your documents ready before placing your order is probably the thing that takes the most time. You will need to send them in with your filled out order application once you have it and the envelope printed. Apostille is probably one of the only services that still uses the old-fashioned traditional mailing without an exclusive online option. However, with everything going online these days, that may not be the case for too much longer.
Once they receive your documents, they start processing your order immediately. Once they are finished, they mail it back to you in your printed pre-paid envelope.
For more information on getting an Apostille from the Secretary of State, visit US Authentication Services on their website or call 703-971-7226.
