How a digital apostille works
Every order begins with a review of the document and the office that will receive it. Here is what happens after that.
Tell us about the document
Send the review form with the document type, destination country and receiving office. If you have a checklist from a consulate or foreign lawyer, include what it says.
We confirm the route
Federal records go to the U.S. Department of State. Private documents are notarized in Maryland, certified by the Circuit Court clerk where required and apostilled by the Maryland Secretary of State.
You approve the price and send the file
You see the service charge and government or notary fee before anything is submitted. Then you send your document electronically.
The authority issues the apostille
The apostille is a one-page certificate with ten numbered fields. It is attached to your document or to the notarized copy.
We scan and email it
You receive a high-resolution PDF that shows the document and the apostille together, ready for your translator, lawyer or the office that will accept it.
What an apostille confirms
An apostille verifies the origin of a public document: the signature, the capacity of the person who signed and any seal or stamp. It does not verify whether the contents are true. A clean FBI report and an inaccurate one would receive the same certificate.
Why we check acceptance first
The 1961 Apostille Convention tells member countries not to demand further legalization of an apostilled document. It does not oblige an office to accept a scan. That is why we ask what your receiving office wants before you pay.