How to Apostille a Las Vegas Marriage Certificate
Updated: 4 days ago
A Las Vegas marriage certificate is apostilled by the Nevada Secretary of State, not by the chapel or Clark County. First you need a certified copy from the Clark County Clerk, which is usually available about one business day after your officiant files the marriage. Officiants have 10 days to file. The souvenir certificate you received at the chapel cannot be apostilled.
Step 1: Wait until the marriage is recorded
Your officiant submits the signed certificate to the Clark County Clerk within 10 days of the ceremony. A certified copy can't be ordered until that filing is done, so ordering on your wedding day usually doesn't work.
Step 2: Order a certified copy from the Clark County Clerk
You can order online by credit card, by mail, or in person. Mail orders must be paid by money order, bank check or cashier's check in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank. Personal checks are not accepted.
The Clerk sends copies by standard U.S. mail. The county says to allow up to 3 weeks for delivery inside the U.S. and up to 6 weeks for international orders.
Certified copy or certified abstract?
Clark County offers two versions. The certified copy reproduces the original certificate signed by the officiant, printed on security paper with a raised seal. The certified abstract is shorter and is accepted by some agencies and countries, but not all.
If you aren't sure what the receiving office accepts, order the full certified copy. It is the safer choice for foreign use.
Step 3: Get the apostille from the Nevada Secretary of State
Submit the original certified copy to the Nevada Secretary of State for the apostille. Keep the document intact. Don't remove staples, laminate it, or separate any pages.
If the country where you'll use the certificate is not part of the Hague Apostille Convention, an apostille isn't enough. The document needs a full embassy legalization instead.
Where couples get stuck
Sending the chapel or souvenir certificate. Only the county's certified copy can be apostilled.
Ordering the copy before the marriage has been filed.
Ordering the abstract when the receiving office wants the full certificate.
Underestimating mail time. An overseas couple can lose six weeks waiting for the copy, then more sending it back to Nevada.
Ordering a single copy when you need it for more than one country or purpose. Each use usually needs its own apostilled original.
Married in Las Vegas, living somewhere else
This is the most common situation we see: a couple married in Las Vegas, flew home, and now a government office abroad wants the certificate apostilled. The slow part is the mail, not the paperwork.
The fix is to have the certified copy shipped to us instead of overseas. We submit it for the apostille as soon as it arrives and send the finished document to you by FedEx, anywhere in the world, so it crosses the ocean once. We review everything before it is filed, and you pay after it's done. Email jared@apostillellc.com or call 848-467-7740. For other Nevada documents, see our Nevada apostille page.
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