International Apostille – Blog

Do It Yourself Apostille

November 3, 2020 by admin

Are you the “Do it Yourself” type and would rather handle the process on your own and without any help? We totally get that! Our website caters to those individuals who would rather not sweat the small stuff and focus on more important tasks.

At International Apostille, we take the guesswork out of obtaining an apostille on your documents. We can apostille documents issued from all 50 States and the District of Columbia (Washington DC).

Some of our competitors will spend a lot of money advertising their services online and then provide a “Do it Yourself” section full of confusing and inaccurate information hoping that you would give up and just hand over the business to them. We don’t create “Do-It-Yourself” websites or compare our services with the cost of doing it on your own.

We are experts in obtaining an apostille on your documents. We can provide you the most up-to-date information by phone, e-mail, and online chat. Because things can change at any moment, some of the information on our website may become temporarily inaccurate. For example, during the Covid-19 crises of 2020, some states increased their processing time with little to no notice. For example, the California Secretary of State’s office in Los Angeles closed their offices for several weeks and later reopened them with limited hours and staff. This caused our processing time to increase overnight from an estimated one business day to five business days.

What is an apostille?

In a Nutshell, an apostille is a certificate issued by the Secretary of State that authenticates the official who has signed your documents. You can learn more here: What is an apostille. We also provide an example of state apostilles on our website.

Did you know that on average 60%-70% of notarized documents are rejected by the Secretary of State’s office?

The most common reasons are:

No notary seal or poorly stamped seal on the document
The notary forgot the sign the document
The notary’s signature is not on file with the Secretary of State’s office
The notary has incorrectly signed the document (Example: Signature has changed)
Incorrect notarial wording (Acknowledgment or Jurat)
The notary’s commission has expired or invalid
Notary has copy certified a document incorrectly

Did you know that a handful of states require documents to be processed through the County Clerk’s office before they can receive the apostille from the Secretary of State?

While some of our competitors pretend to be nice only to hope that they confuse you enough to win your business, we’ll provide you the most up-to-date information without the trickery so you can make the best informed decision working with professionals.

Obtaining an apostille can be complicated. Don’t leave this process to untrained employees or non-professionals who do not fully understand the Apostille process and the unique requirements of certain countries. Your paperwork could be rejected costing you time and money. Don’t let this happen to you!

Our staff is available Monday-Saturday from 8am to 7pm to answer your questions and provide you easy to follow-step-by-step instructions. Please call us at 1-888-810-4054 or email: support@internationalapostille.com

Click the PDF download image to get started. Our apostille service is fast, convenient, and saves you time and money.

FDA Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product Apostille

November 1, 2020 by admin

Do you need an apostille on a Certificate to Pharmaceutical Product (CPP)?

The United States Food and drug Administration (FDA) issues Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product certificates that can be used in countries who are members of the Hague Apostille Convention. This certificate conforms to the format recommended by the World Health Organization.

Firms exporting products from the U.S. are often asked by foreign customers or foreign governments to supply a certification relating to products subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other acts the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) administers. Under the FDA Export Reform and Enhancement Act of 1996 (the Act), FDA is authorized to issue certificates for drugs, animal drugs, and devices within 20 days of receipt of a request for such a certificate.

The “Certificate of a Pharmaceutical Product” conforms to the format established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and is intended for use by the importing country when the product in question is under consideration for a product license that will authorize its importation and sale or for renewal, extension, amending or reviewing a license.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) of the United States of America (USA), attach different colored Ribbons to the CPP, which mark the content details. They differentiate between three different types of CPPs for:

Finished medicinal products that are legally marketable in the US authorized by the U.S FDA; A Red Ribbon will be affixed to all (regular) CPPs issued for authorized medicinal products;

Finished medicinal products which are not authorized by U.S. FDA but which may be legally exported; A Blue Ribbon will be affixed to CPPs issued only for export of an unapproved medicinal products; and a CPP for Foreign Manufacturer (products manufactured outside of the U.S.).

A Yellow Ribbon will be affixed to CPPs with foreign manufacturing sites outside of the USA. (Famulare & U.S. FDA, 2003)

Washington DC Apostille Office
Office Hours: 8am – 7pm Monday – Saturday
Customer Support: 1-888-810-4054
Email: WashingtonDC@internationalapostille.com

Click the PDF download image to get started. Our apostille service is fast, convenient, and saves you time and money.

University Degree Apostille

October 13, 2020 by admin

Do you need to apostille your degree?

Before your degree can receive an apostille from the State, it must be signed by the University’s Registrar and notarized. The purpose of the apostille is to prove that your degree is genuine and can be relied on it’s authenticity.

International Apostille can apostille your degree for over 115 countries who are members of the Hague Apostille Convention and for over 60 countries who are non-members of the Hague Apostille Convention (Legalization process). The most common countries we apostille degrees are for South Korea, Spain, and Italy. For non-member countries, they include China, Taiwan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

Note: In additional to your degree, you will most likely need to apostille your FBI background check.

Step #1: The first step is to contact the University’s Registrar and inform the Registrar that you will need the original or a color copy of your degree to be signed and notarized. The Registrar with either ask you to mail in the original or email a color copy. Some University’s may request that you purchase a new degree which can take time to reproduce. If the University does not have a notary on staff, a traveling notary can visit the school and meet with the Registrar. You can search online and arrange for a traveling notary service when it’s convenient for the Registrar. Note: Most notaries are unfamiliar with authenticating a degree (apostille) for another country so it’s best to leave the apostille process to us. The notary must follow the proper notarial laws of their state in order for the state office to authenticate the degree with an apostille.

Step #2: Once you receive your notarized degree, go ahead and verify that the degree has been signed and notarized. Some schools will sign and notarize the back of the degree while others have enough space to use the front. The original signature and the printed name of the Registrar must be on the documents including the notary’s name, signature, date of notarization, notarial wording, and stamp.

Step #3: The final step is to mail in your documents to our office for processing. We have created an order form and credit card authorization form for every US State. You can find and download our order forms here: National Apostille Order Forms

Click the PDF download image to get started. Our apostille service is fast, convenient, and saves you time and money.

Austria Apostille – Path to Dual Citizenship

October 8, 2020 by admin

Do you need to apostille your US documents for Austria?

Are you planning to obtain dual citizenship in Austria? Are you an Austrian Holocaust survivors’ descendant and want to obtain dual citizenship?

At International Apostille, we take the guesswork out of obtaining an apostille on your documents. We can apostille documents issued from all 50 States and the District of Columbia (Washington DC).

Austria is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention and any official document destined for this country requires an apostille from the Secretary of State. The purpose of the Hague Apostille Convention is to create a simplified method of “authenticating” documents for universal recognition.

Office Hours: 8am – 7pm Monday – Saturday
Customer Support: 1-888-810-4054
Email: Austria@internationalapostille.com

Over the past several weeks, we have seen a significate increase in the number of documents being processed for the country of Austria. These documents include birth certificates, marriage certificates, FBI background checks, and notarized affidavits. If you are planning to obtain dual citizenship for Austria, please be sure to obtain a list of documents you will need to apostille.

Please note that we can only apostille documents originating from the US. If your vital record documents originate from another country, they will need to be processed from the country of origin.

Click the PDF download image to get started. Our apostille service is fast, convenient, and saves you time and money.

US Department of State Apostille Processing Time During COVID-19

September 26, 2020 by admin

Do you need to apostille your documents through the US Department of State – Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C.?

Note: For the most up-to-date processing time, please visit and bookmark the following link: Apostille Processing Time

An apostille is a certificate issued by the US Department of State which authenticates the official who has signed your U.S. Federal documents. Since 1980, the United States has been a member of the Hague Apostille Convention.

What was once a four-business day turn around to obtain a U.S. Department of State Apostille has now ballooned to an unheard of 8-12 weeks with no indication that the processing time will subside this year. Since March 20, 2020, the US Department of State – Office of Authentications has closed their in-person counter service thus eliminating the quick turn-around time most people and businesses have been accustomed to.

We can estimate that the U.S. Department of State will not reopen their in-person counter service until February 2021. We believe the delays are because of the ongoing health risks related to COVID-19, limited staff, and the upcoming 2020 Presidential election.

The US Department of State requires all documents submitted to also include Form DS-4194. If you have questions on how to complete Form DS-4194, please contact our office. In an effort to help streamline the process, our office will complete this form once we receive your documents at our Washington, D.C. office.

The most common document we apostille through the US Department of State is the FBI background check. If you need to apostille your FBI background check, a good rule of thumb is to obtain a recent copy and immediately overnight or e-mail it to our office for processing. We can apostille a digital FBI background check in a PDF format or the hardcopy. Most countries will accept a background check issued within the past 90 days with an apostille. Please double check with your contact in the foreign country. We have also learned that the Consulates of Spain and Italy have been flexible in dealing with the delay of obtaining an apostille on the background check.

Here is a list of the most common documents we apostille through the US Department of State: FBI background checks, Social Security Income and Benefits Statement (SSA), US Patent and Trademark documents (USPTO), IRS Form 6166, Certificate of Free Sale (FDA), Certificate to Foreign Government (FDA), Certificate of Naturalization, and documents from the USDA and USCIS.

Click the PDF download image to get started. Our apostille service is fast, convenient, and saves you time and money.