One of the first questions in any authentication project is: does your document need a state apostille or a federal one? Sending a document to the wrong authority is the most common cause of delays. Here’s how to tell the difference.
State-issued documents
Most personal and business documents are issued at the state or county level, and they’re apostilled by the Secretary of State of the state that issued them. Examples include:
- Birth, marriage, and death certificates
- Divorce decrees and court records
- Diplomas, degrees, and transcripts
- Powers of attorney and affidavits (notarized in that state)
- Articles of incorporation and certificates of good standing
A California document goes to the California Secretary of State; a Florida document goes to Florida; and so on. The document must be apostilled in its state of origin — not the state where you currently live.
Federal documents
Some documents are issued by the U.S. federal government and are not apostilled by any state. Instead, they’re authenticated by the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. Common examples:
- FBI background checks (identity history summaries)
- IRS documents such as Form 6166
- FDA and USDA certificates
- Documents signed by a U.S. federal official
- Naturalization and certain immigration documents
- Federal court records
Quick test: Ask who issued the document. A state or county office → state apostille. A federal agency → federal authentication through the U.S. Department of State.
What about non-Hague countries?
If your destination country is not part of the Hague Apostille Convention, neither a state nor a federal apostille is the final step — the document needs full embassy or consulate legalization, which may involve both state and federal authentication followed by a consulate stamp.
Not sure? We’ll figure it out for you
You don’t have to diagnose this yourself. When you start an order, we identify whether your document needs a state apostille, federal authentication, or full legalization — and we handle whichever path applies. We work with documents from every state and every federal agency, for clients nationwide.
Let us route your document correctly
State or federal, Hague or non-Hague — we handle it all.
Learn more: Federal apostille · Apostille from any state · Nationwide apostille services