Document Certification and Authentication Services:
U.S. Apostille and Document Authentication Services
Get your documents authenticated quickly and professionally for international use. Whether you’re preparing paperwork for immigration, employment, marriage abroad, dual citizenship, education, or business, our team handles every step with accuracy and care.
Why Choose American Apostille
• Documents from all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and federal agencies
• Federal documents submitted through our partner office in Washington, D.C.
• Five years handling U.S. document authentication for clients and law firms
• One contact from first email to return shipping
Trusted Apostille Services for Every Document Type
The apostille process can feel complicated—each document, country, and government agency has unique requirements. American Apostille streamlines the entire workflow by managing document intake, preparation, authentication, apostille certification, and embassy legalization when required.
We specialize in processing:
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Birth Certificate Apostilles
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Marriage Certificate Apostilles
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Death Certificate Apostilles
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FBI Background Check Apostilles
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Divorce Decree Apostilles
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Academic & School Record Apostilles
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Corporate & Business Document Apostilles
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Immigration & Visa Document Authentication
Whether your documents must be apostilled under The Hague Apostille Convention or legalized through an embassy or consulate, we take care of the full process for you.
Comprehensive Apostille Services for Vital Records
Send us your documents from anywhere in the United States. We keep you updated at each step and return the completed apostilles to you.
From online apostille services to comprehensive document authentication services, we provide a full spectrum of support for both personal and professional documents.
Apostille
What is an Apostille?
An apostille is a certificate that verifies the signature and seal on a U.S. public document so it can be used in another Hague Apostille Convention country. State documents are apostilled by the issuing state, usually the Secretary of State. Federal documents, like FBI background checks, are apostilled by the U.S. Department of State. It certifies who signed the document, not what it says.
You may need an apostille for:
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Studying or working abroad
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Marriage overseas
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Visa and immigration applications
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Dual citizenship requests
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International employment background checks
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Overseas property transactions
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Handling estates or legal matters abroad
For countries not in the Hague Convention, documents must go through a multi-step legalization process involving state authorities, the U.S. Department of State, and foreign embassies.
Read the full explanation: What is an apostille
US Apostille Services
We handle U.S. federal and state-issued documents, including vital records and FBI background checks. Our team ensures compliance with all requirements for international acceptance.
Services
Certify & Authenticate Your Documents for Global Use
When your documents are destined for use outside the United States, they may need either an apostille or a full authentication and legalization, depending on the destination country.
American Apostille manages all necessary steps, including:
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Document review
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State authentication
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Federal authentication (if required)
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Embassy and consulate legalization
Our team handles a wide range of document types—personal, academic, legal, judicial, and corporate—ensuring accuracy and compliance at every stage.
Embassy / Consulate Legalization
For documents going to non-Hague Convention countries, we complete the full legalization process through the appropriate embassy or consulate.
Apostilles
We provide fast and accurate apostille services for birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, FBI reports, court documents, academic transcripts, corporate filings, and more.
FBI Background Check Apostilles
We get FBI background checks apostilled by the U.S. Department of State through our partner office in Washington, D.C. Send us the FBI-issued PDF, or the hard copy if that is all you received.
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Serving All 50 States
American Apostille processes documents from all 50 U.S. states, including state-issued, county-issued, school-issued, and federal documents. No matter where your document originated, we ensure it is properly authenticated and accepted internationally.
Our nationwide coverage allows for fast processing, consistent handling, and complete compliance with global requirements.
What Our Clients Say
Based on Google Reviews.
★★★★★ Joe L. · Google review
I had an outstanding experience from start to finish. Having gone through the apostille process on my own in the past, I know firsthand how frustrating and time-consuming it can be. This experience couldn't have been more different. From arranging the notary to handling the apostille and even making the payment, everything was seamless and effortless. The entire process was handled professionally and efficiently, with excellent communication throughout. I will definitely use their services again and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone needing an apostille.
★★★★★ Dolores L. · Google review
Jared with American Apostille was amazing! He made the whole process easy from soup to nuts. Jared arranged for an online notary to assist with the notarization. Once the notarization was complete, he took the documents and worked to have them apostilled. The notarization took place on a Tuesday and I had my finalized apostilled documents by Thursday. If you use American Apostille, you will not be disappointed.
★★★★★ Jeannine · Google review
Jared helped us get apostille documents from several state and federal agencies to apply for Costa Rican residency. He was very responsive and organized and made the process very easy for us. We sent him all the documents that we needed to get apostilled and he took care of the rest. I highly recommend his services!
★★★★★ Francisco C. · Google review
As a lawyer in Madrid, having a reliable partner for cross-border documentation is essential. Jared helped us arrange an expedited apostille on a Power of Attorney for Spain on short notice. Everything was handled seamlessly and delivered promptly to our office. Highly recommended!
★★★★★ Frida R. · Google review
We've worked with American Apostille on Powers of Attorney for use in Mexico for a couple of our clients. We've really appreciated their quick turnaround, clear communication, and professional service. They've made the process easy for us. Highly recommend!
★★★★★ Daisy H. · Google review
Excellent service and very fast! This is the perfect solution if you need an apostille while living outside the States.
Contact Us
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Our support team is here to help you with any apostille or authentication request. Fill out the form and we’ll respond with next steps and instructions.
Contact Details
Who needs an FBI background check apostille?
A foreign authority asks for this document when it needs federal-level proof of your record in the United States. The requests we see most often:
• Working abroad — a foreign employer, and the visa office behind it, asking for an apostilled FBI check as part of the hiring file.
• Teaching abroad — schools and immigration authorities overseas commonly require the FBI check with an apostille; it is one of the most frequent reasons clients come to us.
• Visas and residency — residence permits and long-stay visas that require proof of your record from the country you are leaving.
• Adoption — international adoption files that include the prospective parents' background checks.
• Dual citizenship — citizenship-by-descent and similar applications where the receiving country wants federal proof of identity and record.
If the request came from inside the United States — a domestic employer or a U.S. agency — it almost never involves an apostille. The apostille exists for the document's use in another country.
What gets an FBI apostille rejected or sent back
An apostille is a narrow certificate, and the receiving authority checks it narrowly. These are the causes we see:
• It went to the wrong authority. An FBI report sent to a Secretary of State cannot be apostilled there — states have no authority over federal documents. A state stamp on a federal report certifies nothing the receiving country can use, and the document has to be done again through the Department of State.
• It is not actually an FBI report. State and local background checks have similar names and are different documents, issued by different authorities on a different route. A receiving country that asked for the FBI check will not accept a state or local one in its place.
• The report has aged out. The apostille itself does not expire, but receiving authorities set freshness windows on the report underneath it — many want a recently issued check. A genuine apostille attached to a report the authority considers too old is still turned away, and the answer is a fresh report with a new apostille, not a repair to the old one.
• The document was copied or separated after issuance. The apostille certifies the report exactly as issued. A photocopy of an apostilled report, or an apostille detached from its report, is treated by the receiving authority as an uncertified document.
• The destination is not a Hague country. An apostille only works where the Convention applies. For a destination outside it, the document needs authentication and embassy legalization instead — a different route from the start, not a fixed apostille. See our Embassy and Consulate Legalization page.
American Apostille reviews every document before filing. That review is where most of these causes are caught — before the document travels, not after it comes back.
PDF or hard copy: which one works?
Either — what matters is that the document is the report the FBI itself issued.
The FBI issues its Identity History Summary in more than one form. If your report came to you as an FBI-issued PDF, that PDF is the document the Department of State apostille attaches to. If your report came as a paper hard copy, the hard copy is that document. You do not need the paper original if the FBI issued your report electronically, and you do not need a printout treated as an original if your report was issued on paper.
What does not work is a substitute: a printout or scan presented as something it is not, or a state or local background check offered in the FBI report's place. If you are unsure which document you are holding, that is a normal first question — send it to us and we will confirm what it is before anything is filed.
How American Apostille handles it
We get FBI background checks apostilled by the U.S. Department of State through our partner office in Washington, D.C.
What that covers, at the level of what rather than how: we review the report before filing, so the wrong-document and wrong-route problems above are caught here; the apostille itself is handled on the federal route, through the Department of State; and the finished document is returned to you by tracked shipping, wherever you are — clients use this service from across the United States and from abroad.
