Are you agonizing over how to get to the Texas Secretary of State to get an Apostille for a document? You wonder to yourself if if an Apostille is the same as a notary stamp. No, it is not the same. Some people function as an “Apostille Notary” which is essentially a notary who will handle the Apostille service for you.
What is an Apostille anyway? An Apostille is a form of certification set out in the 1961 Hague Convention, which allows the data on a document to be understood by the receiving country regardless of the official language of the issuing country. A country must be a member of the Hague Convention in order to accept on Apostille. Other countries must use legalization for documents. A completed Apostille certifies the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted, and identifies the seal/stamp which the document bears.
A foreign country has just told you that you need an Apostille on a document, however, you’re too far away from the Secretary of State or you just can’t or don’t want to deal with chasing down an Apostille. They make it sound so easy to get an Apostille but as the saying goes, sometimes “It’s easier said than done.” That’s where an Apostille Notary can help you out.
How Can An Apostille Notary Help?
Sometimes you will need to have a document notarized before you can obtain an Apostille. In which case might you need an apostille notary? As an example, in Texas, If a document needs to be translated then a notary would witness the translator’s signature on the translation and the document being translated would be submitted along with the notarized translation for authentication. In this case, it might be easier to have the Apostille notary notarize the document and obtain the Apostille for you.
In another example, school records may need to be authenticated. Normally a school official will notarize your records for you, however, if your school can not notarize for you, you have a couple of options. If you only need a certified copy of your diploma, an online Apostille notary, a mobile notary, or a traditional notary can do that for you. If you need certification of anything other than a diploma, a mobile notary would need to meet with the school registrar to notarize your records. You must sign an affidavit on the photocopy of the original record in the presence of the notary public.
Texas Rules For Certified Documents
Now, let’s talk specifically about Texas. For public documents issued by the State of Texas, the copy must be certified by the State within the last 3 years in order to get an Apostille. Examples of situations where a birth certificate Apostille could be required include:
- Transferred by an employer to a foreign country
- Wanting to marry in a foreign country (destination wedding)
- Adopting a child in a foreign country
Examples of situations where a death certificate apostille could be required include:
- Burying a deceased family member in a foreign country
- Settling an estate of a deceased family member in a foreign country
You can request a certified copy of a birth or death record from the Texas Department of State and Health Services and indicate “Apostille” as the reason for the request. For instructions on requesting certified records, see their Birth Records and/or Death Records pages. For certified marriage/divorce records, contact the local registrar in the county where the event occurred.
GreenSeal is an Apostille Notary in Texas
GreenSeal Notary will handle the process of getting your Apostille from the State of Texas. This personalized concierge service is provided to help alleviate the agony of obtaining an Apostille. GreenSeal Notary will help guide you through the process of obtaining your Apostille. If your document originated in the State of Texas, it will require an Apostille from the State of Texas (i.e. you want to Apostille a birth certificate for a child born in Texas).
Click here to get the Apostille process for a Texas document started today.
