Frequently asked questions

A certificate that authenticates a document — confirming the signature and seal on it are genuine — so a foreign government that's part of the Hague Apostille Convention will accept it without further legalization.

Documents received by Tuesday travel to Olympia the following Thursday and come back apostilled that same day. It's a fixed weekly cycle, not an on-demand trip — plan your Tuesday cutoff around that.

Yes, through mail-in service. Each state only apostilles its own documents, so an out-of-state document is mailed to that state's Secretary of State using their specific request form, then returned to you once it's complete. This takes that state's own mail turnaround, typically one to three weeks.

Yes. Personal documents like powers of attorney often need to be notarized before they can be apostilled. Bring the original in person and that happens at intake, included in the price.

Every document is reviewed before it travels, specifically to avoid a rejection at the counter. If something is missing — the wrong kind of copy, a missing signature — you'll hear about it before the trip, not after.

It depends on the document. Vital records (birth and marriage certificates) need a certified copy with a raised seal. Personal documents like powers of attorney typically need the original, notarized. Send a photo first if you're not sure — I'll tell you.

Details are confirmed by email once your order and price are set, before anything is mailed.

Yes. Each document is priced individually — three documents is three times the per-document rate — but they all ride the same trip or the same mailing, so there's no minimum, no added coordination fee, and no reason to hold documents back waiting for a "big enough" batch.

Rush service arranges a dedicated off-cycle trip — see the pricing page for the flat trip fee. Get in touch and I'll confirm whether a rush trip is feasible for your timeline.