Apostille for Documents Issued in the U.S.

If you have a document which you want legalized for use in another Convention country, the Convention certification called an apostille must be affixed to the document by a competent authority. The apostille is a pre-printed form prescribed by the Convention. The apostille must be affixed at the government agency in the country which issued the original document. The Embassy does not have the authority to affix an apostille to your American documents.
PROCEDURE:
Since the authorities designated by the U.S. to affix the apostille can only attest to the validity of certain seals, it may be necessary for you to obtain some intermediate seals on your document, depending on the origin of the document, before the apostille can be affixed. There is no single U.S. competent authority to issue the Convention apostille. There are different authorities for documents originating in state and local jurisdictions, Federal courts and Federal government agencies. Contact the competent local authority who will affix the certification (apostille) on your document. Please see appendix B (page 3 and following) for a list of the competent authorities. If it is necessary for you to obtain some intermediate seals on your document before obtaining the Convention apostille, consult the appropriate state or federal authority listed.
Hague “Apostille” Authentication Certificate:
Article 7 of the Convention provides for the use of a standardized authentication certificate called an apostille. A sample apostille certificate is provided in appendix C on page 14. The apostille consists of the following: 1) name of country from which the document emanates; 2) name of person signing the document; 3) the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted; 4) in the case of unsigned documents, the name of the authority that has affixed the seal or stamp; 5) place of certification; 6) date of certification; 7) the authority issuing the certificate; 8) number of certificate; 9) seal or stamp of authority issuing certificate; and 10) signature of authority issuing certificate.
Fees:
Fees charged by federal and state government authorities are listed below. Please note that fees vary from state to state and are subject to change.