Where to Go for an Apostille

We get a lot of questions about the apostille process. For foreigners doing business in Brazil, it’s an important first step in nearly any transaction. If an original document is required, expect you’ll need to get it apostilled as well.

Let’s tackle one of the most common questions we get. No, we don’t offer this service. We can’t; law firms don’t apostille documents. Only federal and state governments can do this after you provide them with an original of the document.

So what exactly is an apostille? It’s a seal and signature of a government official that identifies a document as being valid for international purposes. Those countries that are signatories to the 1961 Hague Convention have all agreed they’ll accept foreign documents with an apostille.

Where you get the apostille depends on the document. In most cases, it’ll be the Secretary of State’s office where you reside or where the document was issued. In a few instances, it’ll be the US Department of State.

If you sign a power of attorney in Florida in front of a Florida notary, then you’ll be requesting an apostille from the Florida Secretary of State’s office. Same thing goes for a Florida birth certificate.

The challenge, at least now, is that many government offices are behind schedule because of the pandemic. Take Pennsylvania. According to the Secretary of State’s website, apostilles are taking between four to six weeks.

So plan ahead. Now that you know where to go you can get the process started.