How to Fill Out and Submit the Utah Apostille Request Form

To complete the Utah apostille request form, download the Document Authentication Request Form from the Office of the Lieutenant Governor at authentications.utah.gov, fill out its four sections (destination country and document count, your contact information, service level and delivery, and payment), and submit it with your prepared documents and fee by mail or in person to the office in Salt Lake City. Standard processing runs three to five business days, with faster tiers available at a higher per-document rate.

Where to Get the Form

The form lives on the Lieutenant Governor’s authentication website at authentications.utah.gov. It’s one page, divided into four sections. If you’d rather pick up a blank copy, the office’s service counter inside the Utah State Capitol complex has them on hand.

Filling Out the Four Sections

Section 1: Destination Country and Document Count

Write the foreign country where the documents will be used, and the total number of documents you’re enclosing. The country determines whether the office issues an apostille (for countries in the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention) or an authentication certificate (for countries outside it).¹ You don’t have to know which one applies; the office figures that out from the country you name. The document count needs to match what’s actually in the envelope, because fees are charged per document.

Section 2: Requestor Information

Enter your first and last name, mailing address, city, state, zip, phone, and email, and mark your preferred method of contact. If anything’s wrong with your submission, the office reaches out through the number or email you list here, so keep both current. Your mailing address is also where documents go back if you chose return by mail.

Section 3: Service Level and Delivery

Pick how you want the documents returned and how quickly you need them processed. Delivery options are in-person pickup, mail to the address you provided, or mail using a prepaid return envelope you include with the submission. Processing speeds are standard, next business day, and same day, each priced per document.² Fee amounts are below.

Section 4: Payment

If you’re paying by credit card, fill in the cardholder name, card number, expiration date, CVV, and sign the authorization line. Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express are accepted.² Leave this section blank if you’re paying by check, money order, or cash. Checks and money orders should be made out to “State of Utah.”

Before sealing the envelope, walk the checklist printed at the bottom of the form: every section complete, payment enclosed, documents enclosed, and a self-addressed return envelope inside if you want mail-back service.

Getting Your Documents Ready

The form alone doesn’t get your documents authenticated. Each one has to arrive carrying either a notarial certificate or an official government seal, or the office won’t process it.

Private Documents

Private documents such as powers of attorney, school transcripts, and personal affidavits have to be notarized by a Utah notary public before you submit them.³ The notarial certificate needs the notary’s signature, a legible stamp or seal, and the correct statutory language for the type of notarial act. A signature witnessed by a notary without the full certificate language will be rejected. Confirm the notary’s commission is still active; an expired commission invalidates the notarization.

Public Records

Public records like birth certificates, marriage licenses, and death certificates need to be certified copies from the Utah State Registrar or a county clerk. Those certified copies carry the issuing agency’s official seal, which is what the Lieutenant Governor’s office verifies. A notarized photocopy is not a substitute and will be rejected.

Business Documents

State-issued business records like articles of incorporation or certificates of good standing already have an official state seal and are ready to go. Private business documents such as contracts, board resolutions, and operating agreements have to be notarized by a Utah notary first.

What the Office Won’t Authenticate

Some submissions get returned unprocessed no matter how the form is filled out:³

Documents notarized by a remote notary. Only in-person notarizations are accepted.
Documents issued in another state. Each state authenticates only its own.
Federal documents such as FBI background checks or federal court records. These go to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications, using form DS-4194. Do not notarize a federal document before sending it to the State Department; that breaks the authentication chain.
Improperly notarized documents (missing language, stamp, or signature).
Private documents with no notarization at all.

Fees and Processing Speeds

Fees are per document, not per page:²

Standard, three to five business days: $19 per document.
Next business day: $53 per document.
Same day, within two hours: $93 per document.

Adoption-related apostilles are $10 per document when accompanied by a sworn affidavit.² If international return shipping is needed and you don’t include a prepaid envelope, the office adds a $10 fee and sends via USPS without tracking.

The office announced that fee rates would change effective July 1, 2025, following legislative updates.⁴ Check the current schedule on authentications.utah.gov before you submit, since the amounts above may have been superseded.

Submitting Your Request

By Mail

Send the completed form, payment, prepared documents, and return envelope to the appropriate address:²

USPS: Office of the Lieutenant Governor, PO Box 142325, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114
FedEx or UPS: Office of the Lieutenant Governor, 350 North State Street, Suite 220, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114

A self-addressed prepaid envelope with tracking is recommended. Without one, the office affixes first-class postage and mails everything back through USPS untracked.

In Person

You can drop the request off at the service counter in the State Capitol complex, 350 North State Street, Suite 220, Salt Lake City. Same-day, two-hour processing is only available if you bring the request in and pick it up in person.⁵ If you use standard or next-business-day service in person, you can still choose to pick up the finished documents instead of having them mailed.

After You Submit

Posted processing times are in-office working time and don’t count mailing transit in either direction.⁵ Once the office verifies the signature and seal on your document, it attaches an apostille (for Hague Convention countries) or an authentication certificate (for non-Hague countries) and returns the package by whatever method you selected.

If something’s wrong (an expired notary commission, missing notarial language, a document that didn’t originate in Utah), the office contacts you at the number or email you listed. Rejected documents come back unprocessed, and fixing the problem means resubmitting with a new form and payment.

1
Hague Conference on Private International Law. Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents
2
Authentications.Utah.gov. Document Authentication (Apostille / Certificate)
3
Authentications.Utah.gov. Types of Documents for Authentication/Apostille
4
Authentications.Utah.gov. Authentications.Utah.gov
5
Authentications.Utah.gov. FAQs