Q. Who are the U.S. "Competent Authorities" to issue the Apostille certificate? A. There are three levels of U.S. competent authorities, one for Federal agencies, one for U.S. (federal) courts, and one for state documents, including documents executed before notaries.
1. Federal Executive and Administrative Agencies: Authentications Office, Department of State, 518 23rd St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20520, (202) 647-5002 Fee: $5.00. For additional information, call the Federal Information Centre: 1-800-688-9889, and choose option 6 after you press 1 for touch-tone phones. Walk-in service is available from the Authentications Office from 8 a.m. to 12 noon Monday-Friday, except on holidays. Walk-in service is limited to 15 documents per person per day (documents can be multiple pages). Processing time for authentication requests sent by mail is 5 working days or less. See also, the State Department home page: http://www.state.gov. See also in general, 22 C.F.R. 131.
2. U.S. Courts: Clerks and Deputy Clerks of the Federal Court System. Fee: $5.00. For the purposes of the Convention, clerks and deputy clerks of the U.S. Courts shall include the clerks and deputy clerks of the following: The Supreme Court of the United States, the Courts of Appeals for the First through the Eleventh Circuits, and the District of Columbia Circuit, the United States District Courts, the United States Court of Claims, the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, the United States Court of International Trade, the United States District Court for the District of the Canal Zone, the District Court of Guam, the District Court of the Virgin Islands, and the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.
3. States, Territories, and Other Jurisdictions: Each state and other jurisdiction in the United States (District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam)
Alabama Office of the Secretary of State Authentication Section State Capitol, Room E-204 600 Dexter Ave. Montgomery, AL 36104 334-242-7210 http://www.sos.state.al.us/authenticate/index.htm Fee: $5.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State
4. United Kingdom: The Legalization Office is located in Milton Keynes and has a Public counter at Milton Keynes it is open between the hours of 9:30 and 15:30, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).
No appointment is necessary but check the home page on the day you plan to use the service as there may be unexpected changes.
Applications will be assessed as straightforward or non-straightforward depending on whether we have the signatory of the UK official on our records. The majority of documents submitted to us will be straightforward and will be processed within 90 minutes (but this may be extended in our busy months from June to September). Applications requiring further inquiries (ie signatory confirmation) may take longer than 90 minutes. Some may not be concluded on the same day. To visit the website: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/what-we-do/services-we-deliver/legal-services/legalisation/ Alaska Notary Administrator Office of the Lieutenant Governor P.O. Box 110015 Juneau, AK 99811- 0015 907-465-3509 http://www.gov.state.ak.us/ltgov/notary/authentications.htm Fee: $2.00 Designated Authority: Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Clerk of the Supreme Court
Arizona Office of the Secretary of State Business Services Division, Notary Section 1700 W. Washington, 7th Floor Phoenix, AZ 85007-2888 602 542-4086/ 602 542-4758 http://www.sosaz.com/notary Fee: $3.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Assistant Secretary of State.
Arkansas Office of Secretary of State Corporations Division State Capitol Little Rock, AR 72201-1094 501-682-3409 http://www.sosweb.state.ar.us/business.html Fee: $10.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Chief Deputy Secretary of State.
California Office of the Secretary of State Business Programs Division Notary Public Section P.O. Box 942877 Sacramento, CA 94277-0001 916-653-3595 http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/notary/authentication.htm Fee: $20.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; any Assistant Secretary of State; any Deputy Secretary of State.
Colorado Office of Secretary of State 1560 Broadway, Suite 200 Denver, CO 80202 303-894-2680 http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/info_center/2001fees.htm Fee: By Mail: $2.00 While You Wait: $17.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State.
Connecticut Office of the Secretary of State Authentication Unit 30 Trinity St. Hartford, CT 06106 860-509-6135 http://www.sots.state.ct.us/recordslegislativeservices/authen.html#orders Fee: $20.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State.
Delaware Office of Secretary of State Notary Division 401 Federal St., Suite 3 Dover, DE 19901 302- 302/739-4111 http://www.state.de.us/sos/sos.htm Fee: $10.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Acting Secretary of State.
District of Columbia Office of the Secretary, D.C. Notary Commissions & Authentications Section 441 4th St. N.W. (One Judiciary Square) Washington, D.C. 202-727-3117 http://os.dc.gov/info/notary/notary.shtm#document Fee: $10.00 Designated Authority: Executive Secretary; Assistant Executive Secretary; Mayor's Special Assistant and Assistant to the Executive Secretary; Secretary of the District of Columbia.
Florida Department of State Office of International Affairs Notary Certification/Apostille Section The Capitol Building Suite 1902 Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250 804-488-7521 http://notaries.dos.state.fl.us/notproc7.htm Fee: $10.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State
Georgia Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority Notary Division 1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 100 Atlanta, GA 30345 404-327-6023 http://www2.gsccca.org/projects/apost.html or the Office of Secretary of State Administrative Procedures Unit
2 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Suite 820 - West Tower Atlanta, Georgia 30334 404-656-2885 http://www.sos.state.ga.us/administration/notary.htm Fee: $3.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority.
Hawaii Office of the Lieutenant Governor State Capitol, 5th Floor, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 808-586-0255 http://www.state.hi.us/ltgov/page8.html Fee: $1.00 Designated Authority: Lieutenant Governor of the State of Hawaii.
Idaho Office of Secretary of State Notary Department Box 83720 Boise, ID 83720 208- 332-2810 http://www.idsos.state.id.us/notary/apostill.htm Fee: $10.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Chief Deputy Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State; Notary Public Clerk.
Illinois Office of the Secretary of State Index Department, Notaries Public Division 111 E. Monroe St. Springfield, IL 62756 217- 217-782-7017 http://www.sos.state.il.us/departments/index/division.html Fee: $2.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Assistant Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State.
Apostilles are issued by the Index Department of the Illinois Secretary of State's office:
Illinois Secretary of State's Office Index Department 17 N. State St. Suite 1030 Chicago, IL 60602 (312) 814-2067
Indiana Office of Secretary of State Statehouse Suite 201 Indianapolis, IN 46204 317-232-6532 http://www.in.gov/sos/notary/seal.html Fee: no charge Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State
Iowa Office of Secretary of State Lucas Building First Floor, Public Service Des Moines, IA 50319 515-281-5204 http://www.sos.state.ia.us Fee: $5.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State
Kansas Office of Secretary of State State Capitol Second Floor Topeka, KS 66612 913-296-2744 http://www.kssos.org Fee: $5.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Assistant Secretary of State; any Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.
Kentucky Office of Secretary of State Capitol Building P.O. Box 718 Frankfort, KY 40602-0178 502-564-7330 Fee: $5.00 http://www.kysos.com Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Assistant Secretary of State.
Louisiana Office of Secretary of State P.O. Box 94125 Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125 504-342-4981 Fee: $5.00 http://www.sec.state.la.us/comm/comm-index.htm Designated Authority: Secretary of State.
Maine Office of Secretary of State Bureau of Corporations Elections and Commissions 101 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333-0101 207-624-7650 http://www.state.me.us/sos/cec/rcn/notary/authapos.htm Fee: $10.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State.
Maryland Office of Secretary of State Statehouse Annapolis, MD 21401 410-974-5520 http://www.sos.state.md.us/sos/certif/html/certif2c.html#apos Fee: $5.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State.
Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Commissions Section McCormack Building, Room 1719 One Ashburton Place Boston, MA 02108 617-727-2832 http://www.state.ma.us/sec/pre/precom/comidx.htm Fee: $3.00
Michigan Department of State Office of the Great Seal 7064 Crowner Boulevard Lansing, MI 48918 517-373-2531 http://www.michigan.gov/sos/1,1607,7-127-1638_8734---,00.html Fee: $1.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State.
Minnesota Secretary of State's Office 180 State Office Bldg. St. Paul, MN 55155 651-296-2803 http://www.sos.state.mn.us/uccd/authinfo.html Fee: $5.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State.
Mississippi Office of Secretary of State P.O. Box 136 Jackson, MS 39205-0136 601-359-1615 http://www.sos.state.ms.us/busserv/notaries/notaries.html Fee: $5.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; any Assistant Secretary of State.
Missouri Office of Secretary of State Commission Division 600 West Main, Room 367 Jefferson City, MO 65102 573-751-2783 http://www.sos.state.mo.us/business/commissions/certify.asp Fee: $10.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State.
Montana Office of Secretary of State Room 225 Box 202801 State Capitol Helena, MT 59602 406-444-5379 http://sos.state.mt.us/css/index.asp Fee: $2.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Chief Deputy Secretary of State; Government Affairs Bureau Chief.
Nebraska Office of Secretary of State Notary Division Box 95104 State Capitol Lincoln, NE 68509 402-471-2558 http://www.sos.state.ne.us/Notary/notauth.htm Fee: $10.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State.
Nevada Secretary of State 101 N. Carson Street, #3 Carson City, NV 89701-4786 775-684-5708 http://sos.state.nv.us/notary/apostille.htm Fee: $20.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Chief Deputy Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State.
New Hampshire Office of Secretary of State Statehouse Room 204 Concord, NH 03301 603-271-3242 http://www.state.nh.us/sos/certific.htm Fee: $5.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State
New Jersey Department of State Notary Public Unit Division of Commercial Recording PO Box 452 Trenton, NJ 08625 609-530-6421 http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/revenue/dcr/programs/notary.html Fee: Regular Service: $25.00 Expedited Service: $35.00 Designated Authority: NJ Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue
New Mexico Office of the Secretary of State State Capitol North Annex, Suite 300 Santa Fe, NM 87503 505-827-3600 http://www.sos.state.nm.us/notary-cert.htm Fee: $3.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State
Upstate Counties Miscellaneous Records 162 Washington Ave. Albany, NY 12231 518-474-4770 http://www.dos.state.ny.us Fee: $10.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Executive Deputy Secretary of State; any Deputy Secretary of State; any Special Deputy Secretary of State
Down State Counties New York authorities in Albany advise that documents issued in the nine downstate counties are authenticated under the Convention by the New York City office. The nine downstate counties are New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, and Richmond. The address of the New York Department of State, Certification Unit is 6th Floor, 270 Broadway, New York, New York 10007, tel: 212-417-5684.
Fee: $10.0
North Carolina Office of Secretary of State Authentication Division PO Box 29622 Raleigh, NC 27626-0622 919-807-2140 http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/authen Fee: $10.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State
North Dakota Office of Secretary of State Capitol Building 600 E Boulevard Ave., Dept 108 Bismarck, ND 58505 701-328-2900 http://www.state.nd.us/sec Fee: $10.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State.
Ohio Office of the Secretary of State 180 East Broad St. 15th Fl. Columbus, OH 43215 614-466-2585 http://www.state.oh.us/sos/authentication_of_documents_stat.htm Fee: $5.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Assistant Secretary of State.
Oklahoma Office of Secretary of State 2300 N. Lincoln Room 101 Oklahoma City, OK 73105 405-521-4211 http://www.sos.state.ok.us Fee: $25.00 (cashiers check or money order) Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Assistant Secretary of State; Budget Officer of the Secretary of State.
Oregon Office of Secretary of State 255 Capitol St. Suite 151 Salem OR 97310 503-986-2200. http://www.filinginoregon.com/notary/index.htm Fee: $10.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State; Acting Secretary of State; Assistant to the Secretary of State.
Pennsylvania Department of State Bureau of Commissions Elections and Legislation North Office Building Room 304 Harrisburg, PA 17120 717-787-5280 http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bcel/certifications/certifications.html Fee: $15.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of the Commonwealth; Executive Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Rhode Island Office of Secretary of State Notary Division 100 N. Main St. Providence, RI 02903 401-277-1487 http://www.corps.state.ri.us/notaries/notaries.htm Fee: $5.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; First Deputy Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State
South Carolina Office of Secretary of State P.O. Box 11350 Columbia, SC 29211 803-734-2119 http://www.scsos.com/notariesbc.htm Fee: $2.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State
South Dakota Office of Secretary of State 500 East Capitol Pierre, SD 57501-5077 605-773-5004 http://www.state.sd.us/sos/Notaries/apostilles_and_authentications.htm Fee: $2.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State
Tennessee Office of Secretary of State James K. Polk Building Division of Business Services 312 Eighth Avenue North 6th Floor, William R. Snodgrass Tower Nashville, TN 37243 615-741-3699 http://www.state.tn.us/sos/service.htm#apostilles Fee: $2.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State.
Texas Office of Secretary of State P.O. Box 12079 Austin, TX 78711 512-463-5705 http://txsos-7.sos.state.tx.us/authfaqs.shtml Fee: $10.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Assistant Secretary of State
Utah Office of the Lieutenant Governor 210 State Capitol Salt Lake City, UT 84145-8414 801-538-1040 http://governor.state.ut.us/lt_gover/internationaltemplate.html Fee: Certifying Notary's Seal: $10.00 Apostille: $5.00 Designated Authority: Lieutenant Governor; Deputy Lieutenant Governor; Administrative Assistant.
Vermont Office of Secretary of State 109 State St. Montpelier, VT 05609-1103 802-828-2308 http://www.sec.state.vt.us Fee: $2.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State.
Virginia Office of Secretary of Commonwealth Authentications Division 830 East Main Street, 14th Floor Richmond, VA 23219 804-786-2441 http://www.soc.state.va.us Fee: $10.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of the Commonwealth; Chief Clerk, Office of the Secretary of Commonwealth.
Washington Office of the Secretary of State Corporations Division Apostille and Certificate Program PO Box 40228 Olympia, WA 98504-0228 360-586-2268 http://www.secstate.wa.gov/apostilles Fee: $15.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Assistant Secretary of State; Director, Department of Licensing.
West Virginia Office of Secretary of State Capitol Building 1900 Kanawha Blvd. East No. 157-K Charleston, WV 25305-0770 304-558-6000 http://www.wvsos.com/execrecords/other/authentication.htm Fee: $10.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Under Secretary of State; any Deputy Secretary of State.
Wisconsin Office of Secretary of State P.O. Box 7848 Madison, WI 53707-7848 608-266-3159 http://badger.state.wi.us/agencies/sos/authen.htm Fee: $10.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Assistant Secretary of State.
Wyoming Office of Secretary of State The Capitol Cheyenne, WY 82002-0020 307-777-5342 http://soswy.state.wy.us/authenti/authenti.htm Fee: $3.00 Designated Authority: Secretary of State; Deputy Secretary of State.
American Samoa Office of the Governor Pago Pago, AS 96799 011-684-633-4116 http://www.amsamoa.com Designated Authority: Secretary of American Samoa; Attorney General of American Samoa.
Guam (Territory of) Office of the Governor P.O. Box 2950 Agana, GU 96910 011-671-472-1537 http://www.admin.gov.gu/doa Designated Authority: Department of Administration
Northern Mariana Islands (Commonwealth of the) Designated Authority: Attorney General; Acting Attorney General; Clerk of the Court, Commonwealth Trial Court; Deputy Clerk, Commonwealth Trial Court http://www.saipan.com/gov
Puerto Rico (Commonwealth of) Supreme Court of Puerto Rico Office of Notarial Inspection P.O. Box 190860 San Juan, PR 00919-0860 787-763-8816 http://www.lexjuris.com/lexnotaria.htm Designated Authority: Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands Office of the Lieutenant Governor 7 & 8 King St. Christiansted, St. Croix, USVI 00802 340-774-2991 http://www.ltg.gov.vi/Departments/Administration/index.html No authority designated: refer requests to the U.S. Department of State, Authentications Office, 2400 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20520. 202-647-5002