REQUEST FOR AUTHENTICATION OF DOCUMENTS
MAIL-IN REQUESTS
Office Of Notary Commissions and Authentications
Authentications are divided into two types:
• Apostilles are issued for countries that are a part of the Hague Convention.
• Foreign Certificates are issued for all other countries.
For Information regarding Hague Convention Countries go to:
https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities/details3/?aid=353
Instructions
1. Please review these instructions and then fill out the form below and mail it to our office (address
below) with your check or money order and your document(s).
2. Documents must have been notarized by a District of Columbia notary public EXCEPT
Birth and Death Certificates must be the CERTIFIED copy issued by the District of Columbia
Department Health, Vital Records.
If you need to get the certified copies of these records go to this website:
https://dchealth.dc.gov/service/vital-records
Marriage Certificates, Divorce Decrees, Proof of Single Status and other court matters must be the
CERTIFIED copy issued by the DC Superior Court with the triple seal; be sure to ask for this when
making the request to the Court.
If you need to get the certified copy of these documents go to this website:
https://www.dccourts.gov
Vital Records and Court documents may only be authenticated in the jurisdiction in which
they were issued. Check with your state to determine their process.
Documents issued by an Agency or Department of the DC Government with the signature of that
Director must be the original and may not be notarized.
3. Federal Documents such as FBI clearances may not be notarized and cannot be authenticated by
our office. Reports of Births Abroad cannot be authenticated by our office. These documents are
authenticated by the US Authentications Office.
http://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal-considerations/judicial/authentication-of-
documents/office-of-authentications.html
4. If the documents are mailed to our office, you may only pay by check or money order from a US
Financial Institution in US Dollars payable to “DC Treasurer”. If you do not have access to a US
Bank, you might try an American Express, Western Union or similar facility to purchase the check or
money order. The cost is $15 per document.
5. You must include a pre-paid, self-addressed return envelope. You may choose any carrier you wish.
The amount of time it takes for you to receive the documents will depend upon the carrier and the
type of service you pick. Some carrier services do not have daily or automatic pick-up from our
office. Be advised that if you use carriers other than the US Postal Service or FedEx you may have
to call or use their website to arrange for a pick-up at an additional cost to you. Use the form below to
tell us the country for which the document(s) are needed and to provide us with your contact
information in case we have any questions. Note that we cannot make international calls.
6. We generally respond to these requests in 2-3 business days.
