To get a New York apostille, submit the original document (prepared according to its type), a completed Apostille/Certificate of Authentication Request Form, and $10 per document to the New York Department of State, either by mail to its Albany office or in person at one of five walk-in locations. An apostille is an internationally recognized certificate that confirms your document is authentic so authorities in Hague Convention countries will accept it without further verification.
Confirm Your Document Qualifies
Only documents that originated in New York State can receive a New York apostille. Federal documents, including FBI background checks, naturalization certificates, patent filings, and federal court records, must go through the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C., not through Albany.
You also need to know whether the destination country belongs to the 1961 Hague Convention. If it does, an apostille is all you need. If it does not, the New York Department of State issues a certificate of authentication instead, using the same $10 fee and the same form, and you then have that certificate legalized at the destination country’s embassy or consulate in the United States.
Prepare the Document
Every submission must be an original or a certified copy from the issuing authority. Photocopies are not accepted, even notarized ones. What you do before mailing depends on the type of document.
Vital Records From the New York State Department of Health
Birth, death, and marriage certificates for events that occurred outside New York City can go directly to the Department of State as long as they bear the signature of the Commissioner of Health or a designee. The Department of Health offers a useful shortcut: order the certificate by mail with expedited processing ($45 per certificate) and they will forward it directly to the Department of State for you. Include a separate $10 check payable to the Department of State and a note naming the destination country.
Vital Records From New York City
NYC birth and death certificates issued by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene need an extra step that trips up many applicants. Request a “Letter of Exemplification” when you order the certificate by selecting “Apostille/Authentication” as the reason on the order form; the letter comes automatically with a long-form certificate.
Once you have the certificate and Letter of Exemplification, bring both to the New York County Clerk’s office at 60 Centre Street, Room 141B, for authentication. The County Clerk fee is $3. Only after that certification can you submit the documents to the Department of State.
NYC marriage records skip the Letter of Exemplification. Get a certified copy from the City Clerk’s Marriage Bureau bearing the City Clerk’s original signature, then take it to the County Clerk for certification.
Notarized Documents
Powers of attorney, affidavits, academic transcripts, and any other document authenticated by a notary follow a two-step path before reaching the Department of State. First, the document is notarized by a New York State notary public. Second, the notary’s signature is certified by the County Clerk in the county where that notary is registered. Without the County Clerk certification, the Department of State will return your documents.
Court Documents
Divorce decrees, judgments, and other court records must be certified by the clerk of the court that issued them. For state courts, the court clerk’s certification is generally sufficient to submit directly to the Department of State. Federal court documents cannot be apostilled by the state.
Translations
If the destination country requires a certified translation, the translator attaches a signed statement confirming accuracy, and that statement is notarized by a New York State notary. The notarized translation then follows the County Clerk certification path like any other notarized document.
Complete the Form and Pay the Fee
Download the Apostille/Certificate of Authentication Request Form from the New York Department of State website. Fill in every field: destination country, your name and contact information, return address, and the number of documents. Incomplete forms are returned, which adds weeks.
The fee is $10 per document. For mail, include a check or money order payable to the “New York Department of State.” In person, credit cards are accepted, and the updated form now requires a CVV for all credit card payments. Use the current version of the form so your payment is not rejected.
Submit by Mail
Send the prepared document, completed form, and payment to:
New York Department of State
Division of Licensing Services
Apostille and Authentication Unit
P.O. Box 22001
Albany, NY 12201-2001
For FedEx, UPS, or DHL, use the physical address:
Division of Licensing Services
1 Commerce Plaza
99 Washington Avenue, 6th Floor
Albany, NY 12231
Completed documents come back by first-class mail unless you include a prepaid overnight shipping label. Labels that bill the carrier to your credit card or use “bill sender” arrangements are not accepted. Prepaid only.
Submit In Person
Walk-in same-day service is available at five offices. Same-day processing is capped at 10 documents per customer, and your documents need to be fully prepared before you reach the counter.
- New York City: 123 William Street, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10038. Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM.
- Albany: 1 Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Avenue, 6th Floor, Albany, NY 12231.
- Binghamton: State Office Building, 44 Hawley Street, Room 1506, Binghamton, NY 13901. Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 12:45 PM to 4:00 PM.
- Buffalo: call (518) 474-4429 for current hours.
- Utica: call (518) 474-4429 for current hours.
The Albany and New York City offices also accept drop-offs, but drop-offs are processed in date-received order and returned by mail, so they are not a same-day option.
How Long It Takes
Walk-in requests handled at the counter are typically completed the same day. Mail-in requests generally take 7 to 10 business days from the date the Department of State receives them, though volume can push that longer. On a deadline, walk-in service is the most reliable choice.
Why Applications Get Returned
Most rejections come from a short list of preparation errors:
- A notarized document submitted without the County Clerk’s certification of the notary’s signature. This is the most frequent problem.
- Notarization by a notary from another state, or a County Clerk certification from the wrong county. The notary must be a New York notary, and the County Clerk must be from the county where that notary is registered.
- Photocopies or scans instead of originals or officially certified copies.
- Incomplete or outdated forms, including forms that lack the current CVV field for credit card payment.
- NYC birth or death certificates submitted without a Letter of Exemplification.
- Mail submissions with no return envelope or prepaid shipping label.
How Long the Apostille Stays Valid
An apostille itself does not expire; it certifies that a document was authentic when issued, and that certification is indefinite under the Hague Convention. The practical shelf life depends on the underlying document. A birth certificate does not expire, so its apostille remains useful. A power of attorney with a built-in expiration date takes its apostille out with it. Some countries impose their own freshness rules for police clearance letters or medical certificates, so confirm with the receiving institution before relying on an older apostille.