Step-by-Step Guide: How to Legalize U.S. Documents for Use in Malaysia

🛑 Important Note First:

Malaysia is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention.

This means apostilles are NOT accepted by Malaysia for official use. Instead, U.S. documents must go through a full embassy legalization process, not apostille.

✅ Step-by-Step Guide: How to Legalize U.S. Documents for Use in Malaysia

Whether you’re sending birth certificates, diplomas, corporate documents, or medical records to Malaysia, you must follow these 3 steps:

🔹 Step 1: State-Level Authentication

If your document originates from a U.S. state:

• First, it must be notarized (if applicable) or be a certified copy (e.g., vital records).

• Then submit it to the Secretary of State for that state to get a Certificate of Authentication — not an apostille.

📌 California Secretary of State Authentication Info

📝 Examples of documents:

• Birth, marriage, death certificates

• University diplomas & transcripts

• Power of attorney

• Notarized affidavits

• Corporate formation documents

🔹 Step 2: U.S. Department of State Authentication

After state authentication:

• Submit the document to the U.S. Department of State – Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C.

This step confirms the authenticity of the state-level certificate.

🗂 Required:

• The authenticated document

• A completed Form DS-4194

• Government fee (currently $20 per document)

• Prepaid return label

📌 U.S. Department of State Authentication Process

🔹 Step 3: Legalization by the Embassy of Malaysia

Once the U.S. Department of State has authenticated the document:

• Submit it to the Embassy of Malaysia in Washington, D.C. for final legalization.

Embassy of Malaysia Legalization Requirements:

✅ Documents to submit:

• Original document (with prior authentications)

• Copy of the document

• Cover letter explaining the purpose (e.g., education, business, visa)

• A valid passport copy of the applicant (or authorized party)

• Legalization fee (call to confirm exact amount)

• Prepaid return envelope (FedEx, UPS)

Submission Method:

• Mail-in (recommended with tracking)

• In-person by appointment only (call to confirm availability)

📍 Embassy Contact Info:

Embassy of Malaysia – Consular Section

3516 International Court NW

Washington, DC 20008

📞 Tel: (202) 572-9700

🌐 https://www.kln.gov.my/web/usa_washington/home

🕒 Estimated Processing Timeline

✅ Example Use Case

A student from California is applying to a university in Malaysia and needs to send a legalized diploma and transcript:

1. They request notarized copies of their documents.

2. Documents are authenticated by the California Secretary of State.

3. Documents are sent to the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C.

4. Final step: documents are legalized by the Embassy of Malaysia.

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Submitting an apostille instead of an authentication (Malaysia does not accept apostilles).

• Skipping the U.S. Department of State step.

• Failing to include a return shipping label.

• Not checking updated embassy fees.

🛠 How Orange County Apostille Can Help

We offer complete embassy legalization services for Malaysia, including:

• Notarization of required documents

• State authentication (e.g., California)

• U.S. Department of State authentication via our Washington, D.C. office

• Submission to the Embassy of Malaysia

• Translation services (if needed)

• Fast, trackable return shipping

📩 Start now at https://orangecountyapostille.org