Apostille Service: Texas Documents for Use Abroad

If a Texas document has to be accepted by a government, court, bank or university in another country, a notary seal alone is usually not enough. That country wants proof that the notary who signed it was really commissioned by the State of Texas. The certificate that supplies that proof is called an apostille, and in Texas only the Secretary of State can issue one. No notary, no law office and no courier service can issue an apostille, and anyone who implies otherwise is selling you something they cannot deliver.

Three words people mix up

• Notarization. A commissioned Texas notary public verifies who signed a document and records the act. This is the step Gwen performs.
• Apostille. The Texas Secretary of State certifies that the notary's commission is genuine, using the standard certificate created by the Hague Convention. Countries that belong to the Hague Apostille Convention accept it on its own.
• Authentication. The route for countries that are not Hague Convention members. The Secretary of State certifies the document, and it then normally has to go on to the U.S. Department of State and the embassy or consulate of the country where the document will be used. It is a longer chain, and the embassy sets its own rules.

The first thing to find out, before anything is signed, is which of these the receiving country wants. Ask them directly, in writing if you can.

Documents this commonly covers

• Powers of attorney for property or family matters abroad.
• Single-status affidavits and documents supporting a marriage in another country.
• Diplomas, transcripts and school records.
• Corporate records: articles, resolutions, certificates of good standing.
• Adoption paperwork.
• Affidavits and declarations for foreign courts.

Copies of vital records (birth, death and marriage certificates) are a separate track. A Texas notary cannot certify a copy of a vital record; you need a certified copy issued by the agency that holds it, and that copy is what goes to the Secretary of State.

Exactly what happens

1. You tell us the country where the document will be used, and the document. That determines apostille or authentication, and whether the document needs notarizing at all.
2. We notarize what needs notarizing: at your home or office, at Gwen's meeting spot in Addison, or online where the document allows it.
3. We mail your documents to the Texas Secretary of State in Austin, with tracking, the State's fee, the request form you have filled in, and a prepaid return envelope.
4. The State issues the apostille and attaches it to your document.
5. We follow up until the State sends the completed document back in the prepaid return envelope.

What the State charges, and what we charge

These are two different bills and we never blur them.

Addison Notary is not affiliated with the Texas Secretary of State and cannot issue an apostille; we prepare and mail your request, and the Secretary of State decides it.

The $15 is the State's fee, not Gwen's. Our fee is $95 per document for apostille handling: preparing the request, mailing it to the Secretary of State in Austin with tracking and a prepaid return envelope, and following up until it comes back. Postage is charged at cost. Any notarization is separate: the $10 State fee per notarized signature, plus one visit fee: $5 at Gwen's Addison meeting spot (weekdays, by appointment), or the visit fee for your zone if she comes to you. Hand delivery to the Secretary of State in Austin is available on request and quoted separately.

State notarial fees are set by Texas Government Code § 406.024 and § 406.111. Travel and convenience fees are separate and are not notarial fees.

How long it takes

We will not give you a day count. The Secretary of State sets its own processing time: its website says mailed requests can take up to two weeks from the day they are received, and actual times vary with volume. Anyone quoting you a guaranteed turnaround for a Texas apostille is guessing. What we will do is send you the tracking number the day your request goes in the mail.

What to have ready

• An unexpired government photo ID for each signer.
• If it still needs notarizing, the document, already written and with every blank filled in by you, except the signature. We do not write or fill out documents.
• Any accompanying documents: exhibits and attachments.
• Do not sign it before the appointment. Some documents must be signed in front of the notary, and Gwen cannot always tell in advance which kind yours is, so the safe rule is to wait.
• The country where the document will be used, and the name of the office or person who will receive it there.
• Any instruction sheet the receiving party gave you. If they demand specific wording, we need to see it before the document is signed, not after.

What we do NOT do

We notarize documents you provide; we do not prepare, draft, select or advise on documents, and we cannot tell you what a foreign authority will accept. Gwen is a commissioned Texas notary public, not an attorney. She cannot give legal advice, cannot tell you which document you need, and cannot tell you how to fill out your paperwork or what to write in it. She does not issue apostilles: only the Texas Secretary of State does. For translation requirements, immigration questions or anything turning on foreign law, speak with a qualified professional in that field.

Get started

Send us the country where the document will be used, the document type and whether it has already been signed. You will get a written quote showing the State's fee and ours as separate lines. See also powers of attorney and estate documents and mobile notary service. Ask about an apostille.