United States · Apostille in 49 states + D.C. · Fully remote
Apostille for Your U.S. Birth Certificate, Handled Entirely Online
We apostille and — if you need it — translate the certified copy of your United States birth certificate, then ship it anywhere in the world. We file apostilles in every state except New York. You never travel, stand in line, or deal with a state office yourself.
Free case review before you commit. Tell us where the certificate was issued and which country will receive it.
The ten fields are identical in every Hague Convention country. This is what gets attached to your certificate.
Important notice — we are a private company
Apostille de la Haya is a private document service operated by Riveros International Business Corp. We are not a government agency and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, any Secretary of State office or any state Office of Vital Records. These services are also available directly from those offices, usually at a lower cost. What you are paying us for is document review, handling, courier logistics and follow-up on your behalf.
What it is
An apostille does one job: it makes your certificate readable abroad
It does not replace your birth certificate and it changes nothing written on it. It is attached as an extra page — the ten-field form above — stating who signed the document, in what capacity, and under whose seal. Every country in the Convention issues the same form, which is why an authority in Rome or Warsaw can accept a certificate from Ohio without ever having seen one before.
State-issued documents
Birth, marriage, death and divorce certificates are apostilled by the Secretary of State of the state that issued them — not the state where you live now.
Federal documents
An FBI Identity History Summary, or anything signed by a federal agency, is apostilled by the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C.
Countries outside the Convention
If your destination is not a member, the document needs consular legalization instead. Tell us the country and we confirm which route applies.
Where people get stuck
Most people who write to us have already tried this alone
What is blocking you
- “Who issues the apostille — the state, or Washington?”
- “My certificate is from a state I left years ago.”
- “It was rejected because the signature was too old.”
- “I ordered online and got an unofficial printout.”
- “Now they also want a translation.”
- “I already live abroad. I can't walk into a U.S. office.”
- “My appointment is in three weeks. The state quotes eight.”
What we do about it
- In the free review we identify the issuing state and the exact authority, before you spend anything.
- We file apostilles in 49 states and Washington, D.C. — every state except New York. Where the record lives makes no difference to you.
- We check your copy against that state's rules first, and tell you before filing if it will not pass.
- We file directly with the Secretary of State of the issuing state, wherever the record lives.
- Our own team produces the translation, so the whole file comes back from one place.
- The entire process is remote and the finished document ships to your address with tracking.
- Tell us the date at the start. We say honestly whether it is achievable and which route is fastest.
Why it is being asked of you
The eight reasons clients need this
Citizenship by descent
Italy, Ireland, Poland, Germany, Spain and others.
Marriage abroad
Local registries almost always require it apostilled.
Residency and work visas
Long-stay permits across Europe and Latin America.
OCI applications
Overseas Citizen of India, for U.S.-born children.
Registering a birth
Entering a U.S.-born child in another country's civil registry.
School enrollment
International schools and universities.
Inheritance and pensions
Proving descent for claims outside the United States.
Adoption and family court
Proceedings held outside the United States.
The sequence
Six steps, none of which you have to be present for
01 · Free case review
Tell us by WhatsApp or on a Zoom call where the certificate was issued and which country will receive it.
02 · Written quote
You receive the scope and the cost in writing before anything begins. No surprises later.
03 · Document check
We verify your certified copy meets the issuing state's requirements before anything is filed.
04 · Apostille
Filed with the Secretary of State of the issuing state, or federally when the document requires it.
05 · Translation
Produced in house when your destination country requires one.
06 · Shipping
Couriered to your address, in the United States or abroad, with tracking.
The decision that costs weeks
State route, or federal route?
Most birth certificates
Secretary of State of the issuing state
A certificate issued in Texas is apostilled in Texas even if you live in Florida or in Madrid. The state where you live is irrelevant.
- Birth, marriage, death and divorce certificates
- Notarized documents and court records
- Corporate filings
Federal documents only
U.S. Department of State, Washington D.C.
Reserved for documents signed by a federal agency. Sending a state document here means it comes back unprocessed.
- FBI Identity History Summary
- Documents signed by federal agencies
- Consular notarizations
Before we can file
What the state needs to see
A certified copy
Issued by the state or county vital records office. Photocopies, hospital souvenir certificates and downloaded PDFs are rejected.
An original seal
The registrar's signature and seal must be present, and some states will not apostille a copy beyond a certain age.
The right state
The apostille is processed by the state that issued the record, which is often not the state you live in.
Matching names
The name must match the documents you will present abroad, or the difference may need to be explained.
Not sure which version you are holding? Send us a photo in the free review and we will tell you before you pay for anything.
Who you are hiring
Fifteen years of this, from one Miami office
Reviewed before you pay
Rejections get caught at the start rather than six weeks in, which is where most of the lost time in this process actually goes.
One provider, not a chain
Apostille, translation and international shipping under one roof, with a single point of contact.
A real office and a named person
Founded by Zulma E. Bourelly, a commissioned Florida Notary Public. Bilingual team, English and Spanish.
More than 6,000 clients have used us since 2009 to apostille and translate United States documents for use abroad.
Questions
What clients ask before starting
No. The entire process is remote. We file the apostille and ship the finished document to your address anywhere in the world.
The state that issued it, not the state where you live now. A certificate issued in Texas is apostilled by the Texas Secretary of State even if you live in Florida or abroad. If you are unsure, we confirm it for you at no cost.
We file apostilles in 49 states and Washington, D.C. The only exception is New York, where we do not process apostilles. Our office is in Miami, Florida, where we process the largest volume.
Yes, provided your country is a member of the Hague Convention of 1961. If it is not, the document needs consular legalization instead, which is a different and longer process. Tell us the destination country and we will confirm which one applies.
An apostille is a single certificate accepted by every country in the Hague Convention. Consular legalization is a multi-step process through the destination country’s embassy or consulate, used when that country is not part of the Convention.
You will need one before an apostille can be filed. Certified copies are issued by the vital records office of the state or county where the birth was registered, and you can request one directly from that office. Tell us the state in the free case review and we will point you to the right one.
No. Only a certified copy issued by the state or county vital records office, bearing the registrar’s signature and seal, can be apostilled. Commemorative hospital certificates and photocopies are rejected.
The birth record itself does not expire, but several states will not apostille a certified copy beyond a certain age, and some destination countries ask for a copy issued within the last three to six months. We check both before filing.
Yes. We produce the translation in house when your destination country requires one, and we tell you in advance whether that country accepts a translation done in the United States.
It depends on the issuing state. Some states turn around in days, others take several weeks. We give you a realistic estimate for your specific state in the free case review.
It depends on the state, on the services included and on the shipping destination, so we issue a written quote for each case rather than a single published price. The review itself is free.
Yes — marriage certificates, death certificates, divorce decrees, powers of attorney, corporate documents and FBI background checks. Sending them together in one order is usually faster and cheaper than separate ones.
No. We are a private company. These services are also available directly from the relevant government offices. You are hiring us for handling, document review, logistics and follow-up.
Start here
Tell Us the Issuing State and the Destination Country
We will tell you what is required, how long it should take and what it costs — in writing, before you commit to anything.
Apostille de la Haya
A trade name of Riveros International Business Corp
175 SW 7th St, Suite 1905 · Miami, FL 33130
+1 305 500 0185
Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET
Office visits by appointment only
