Apostille Basics in 2 Minutes
Apostilles are complicated, and our goal in this series is to provide simple, concise information about common questions and issues in a few minutes or less.

Topic 1: What is an apostille: In simple terms, an apostille is an Internationally Uniform Certification of a Document that validates it for International use.

In the US there are two key differences: Federal and State Apostilles
State Apostilles are for BCs, MCs, Diplomas, Notarized Documents and other documents issued by any particular state. An apostille is s sperate sheet attached to the original document by the secretary of state – it clearly says “apostille” on top.
Federal Apostilles are for FBI Background Checks, Social Security Letters and other documents issued by the federal government.

Key Points, Common Questions: Where can I get an apostille? State apostilles are only issued by the secretary of state from the state of issue. For example, if you have a California Birth Certificate, it can only be apostilled in California. If you have a notarized document from Florida, it can only be apostilled in Florida, no exception. Translation apostilles are different and will be explained in another video.
Federal documents are only apostilled by the Federal Authentications Office in DC. In odd cases, notarized versions of federal documents can be apostilled by a state, but doing so is not recommended for a variety or reasons.

The most complicated part of any apostille is government rules and regulations. You can always order apostilles yourself; however, using a service like our reduces the risk of rejection and return and will speed up the process, in most cases.

Summary – apostilles validate documents (either state or federal) for use internationally. If you’re getting married abroad, planning long term travel or retirement abroad, most likely many of your government issued documents will need apostilles in order to be valid.

https://www.sespanish.com/

Federal apostilles can be ordered here:

https://www.sespanish.com/product/fed...

State apostilles can be ordered here:

https://www.sespanish.com/product/sta...