Apostille Certificate, Authentication Certificate, and Embassy Legalization Certificate/Stamp do not have expiration dates, as you can see in the sample.
However, you should still be aware of how old your documents can be for two reasons, especially for the following most time-sensitive documents that deserve your attention:
Local or FBI Criminal Background Check
Certificate of Free to Marry / Single Status Affidavit
Certificate of Good Standing
Tax Returns
Medical records
Bank statements
Reason 1:
Some requestors overseas may require your US documents to be issued or apostilled recently, such as within the recent 3, 6, 9, or 12 months.
Examples:
In Germany, they require US birth certificates must have been issued within the last 6 months.
In Portugal, your Certificate of No Impediment (also called Certificate of Freedom to Marry, or Single Status Affidavit) must not be older than 6 months and must be apostilled.
Most countries require your Local or FBI Criminal Background Check to be valid for no more than 3 or 6 months from its issuance date.
Reason 2:
The competent authorities in the U.S. which are responsible for issuing Apostille certificates, Authentication Certificates, or Embassy Legalization Certificates may have their own requirements.
Examples:
In Michigan and Virginia, vital records such as birth, marriage, divorce, and death certificates must be certified copies issued within the last 12 months.
In Texas, birth and death certificates submitted for apostille or authentication must be recently issued certified copies (issued within the last 5 years).
In Vermont and Arizona, certified copies of vital records (birth, marriage, and death) must be issued within the last 5 years.
In Montana, all documents must be less than 5 years old.
Please double-check with the country requesting your documents in order to find out how old your documents can be before you mail them in for processing.
I have confirmed everything. Then how to get an apostille?
➡️ For documents issued by a state, local government/court, or local notary public, and will be used in countries included in this Hague Apostille country list, the service you'll need is,
➡️ For documents issued by a state, local government/court, or a local notarized public, and will be used in countries included in the Non-Hague Apostille country list, the services you'll need are,
➡️ For documents issued by the federal government/court, or notarized by a U.S. Consular Officer, and will be used in countries included in this Hague Apostille country list, the service you'll need is,
➡️ For documents issued by the federal government/court, or notarized by a U.S. Consular Officer, and will be used in countries included in the Non-Hague Apostille country list, the services you'll need are,
Simply place an order based on your situation and mail us the original copy. We will contact the right people and departments to apostille or authenticate it.
The apostille and authentication process can be complicated. If you don't want to spend a lot of time and energy getting into it, your best bet is to let a professional do it for you. Once we receive your order and document, it'll be processed as soon as possible.
We provide apostille, authentication, and embassy legalization services for all personal documents and corporate documents issued in 50 states and DC.
If you have any questions and do not know which service to order, please contact us by describing ① the type of the document, ② which state the doc is from or issuing agency, and ③ in which country the doc will be used, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
American Notary Service Center Inc. provides fair, fast, confidential, and professional document notarization and certification services for our clients. We also provide various assistance services to small businesses led by socially and economically disadvantaged groups. Our service helps small businesses obtain federal government contracts, gain a foothold in the market, and boost their sales. For more information, please visit our website at www.usnotarycenter.com, and contact us by calling 202-599-0777 or by email at info@usnotarycenter.com.