How to Get an Apostille in Georgia: Steps, Costs, and Rejections

To get an apostille in Georgia, submit your prepared document to the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority (GSCCCA), the only state agency authorized to issue apostilles for Georgia documents.¹ The fee is $3 per document, walk-ins are usually done in under twenty minutes, and mailed requests take one to two business days of processing plus transit time. Most of the work happens before you get there: the document has to be properly notarized or certified, or the GSCCCA will send it back.

Which Documents the GSCCCA Can Apostille

The GSCCCA apostilles three broad categories of Georgia documents: publicly recorded documents (vital records, court records, and corporate filings), notarized documents, and certain official government records.¹ What counts as “properly prepared” depends on which category you’re in.

Vital Records and Court Documents

Birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, and divorce decrees have to be official certified copies bearing the signature and seal of the issuing Georgia state or county official.¹ These are never notarized. Birth and death certificates should come from the Georgia Department of Public Health, a county probate court, or a county health department, and ideally should have been issued since 2000.² If your copy is older than that, order a fresh one first.

Court records like divorce decrees and adoption orders must be certified copies from the issuing Georgia court. Some counties participate in an eCertification program for digital certified copies of divorce decrees, and the GSCCCA can apostille the printed version.¹

Notarized Documents

Powers of attorney, affidavits, contracts, consent letters, diplomas, school transcripts, and translations all get notarized before submission. One point the GSCCCA is explicit about: notarized documents do not need any additional county certification before the apostille. A separate “certification of notary” from a county clerk is a different product used for documents staying inside the United States, such as visa applications at a U.S. embassy, and it is not part of the apostille process.¹

Corporate Documents

Articles of incorporation, certificates of good standing, and similar filings must be certified copies issued by the Georgia Secretary of State’s Corporations Division.¹ Get the certified copy from that office (in person or online), then bring it to the GSCCCA.

Preparing the Document Correctly

The most common reason apostille requests fail is that the document wasn’t properly prepared before submission. The GSCCCA cannot fix notarization defects or missing certifications.

Notarization Requirements

If your document needs to be notarized, the notary must sign by hand in ink using the exact name on their commission and record the date of the notarial act on the certification.³ The notary must also apply a seal of office that includes the notary’s name, the words “Notary Public,” the state name, and the county of appointment.⁴ A rubber stamp works; a handwritten scrawl does not.

Check the seal impression before you leave the notary. Faded or partial stamps are a frequent cause of rejection.

Certified Copies vs. Regular Copies

Vital records and corporate documents must bear an original official signature and seal from the issuing authority. Informational copies, uncertified printouts, or a plain PDF you saved from the Secretary of State website do not qualify. If you’re not sure what you have, order a certified copy directly from the issuing office before submitting.

What to Include in Your Submission

Every apostille request packet should contain:¹

The original documents. Photocopies are not accepted.
A cover letter or the GSCCCA’s printable Apostille Request Form specifying the destination country and your contact information.⁵
Payment of $3 per document, payable to GSCCCA.
For mail submissions, a prepaid return envelope or airbill. FedEx or UPS return airbills must be computer-generated; handwritten airbills are not accepted.

How to Submit and Pay

The GSCCCA accepts requests in person or by mail at 1875 Century Blvd., Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30345.¹ There is no online submission. Third parties, including courier services, can drop off documents on your behalf, and the GSCCCA runs a credit card pre-payment voucher system so couriers don’t need to carry cash or checks.

Walk-in payment can be by cash, check, money order, or credit or debit card. Mailed requests must pay by check or money order (checks need a pre-printed name and address) or through the voucher system.

How Long It Takes

Walk-in requests are typically completed in under twenty minutes, depending on how many documents you bring.¹ Mail-in requests normally take one to two business days of processing plus transit time in each direction. If you have a hard deadline, drive to Atlanta rather than mailing.

There is no online tracking. For status updates, call the GSCCCA at (404) 327-6023 or (800) 304-5174. Keep a copy of your cover letter and payment record for reference.

Common Reasons for Rejection

Almost every rejection comes down to one of these:

Incomplete or improper notarization: missing signature, missing seal, or a seal that doesn’t meet Georgia’s statutory requirements.
Vital records without proper certification: informational copies or uncertified printouts instead of a signed and sealed certified copy.
Corporate documents that weren’t certified by the Secretary of State’s Corporations Division.
Destination country isn’t in the Hague Apostille Convention (see below).

Rejected documents come back with an explanation. Fix the specific issue and resubmit.

If Your Destination Country Isn’t in the Hague Convention

An apostille only works in Hague Convention member countries. If your document is going somewhere that isn’t a member, the GSCCCA can’t help you. You need authentication from the Georgia Secretary of State’s Great Seal Authentication service instead, followed by legalization at the destination country’s embassy or consulate. That process costs $10 per document and, for notarized documents, requires an extra preliminary step: a notary certification from the clerk of superior court in the county where the notary is commissioned.⁶

Federal Documents Go Through Washington

The GSCCCA cannot apostille federal documents like FBI background checks. Those go through the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications using Form DS-4194. Mailed federal requests take five or more weeks; walk-in drop-off and pick-up takes two to three weeks. Same-day service is by appointment only in genuine emergencies, such as an immediate family member’s death or life-threatening illness abroad.⁷ Plan well ahead if a federal document is part of your paperwork.

Using the Apostille Abroad

Once issued, an apostilled document is accepted in any Hague Convention member country without further legalization. The apostille itself has no expiration date, though if the underlying document has a limited validity period, the apostille’s usefulness is limited to that period as well.

Some countries require a certified translation of both the document and the apostille into the local language, and requirements vary by country and document type. Check with the receiving authority or the destination country’s consulate before you travel.

An apostille only confirms that the signature and seal on the document are genuine. It says nothing about whether the content is accurate. A birth certificate with a misspelled name will still be apostilled, and the receiving country may still reject it. Fix factual problems in the document itself before you start.

1
Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority. General Apostille Information
2
Georgia Department of Public Health. Vital Records
3
Justia Law. Georgia Code 45-17-8.1 – Signature and Date of Notarial Act
4
Justia Law. Georgia Code 45-17-6 – Seal of Office
5
Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority. Apostille Request Form
6
Georgia Secretary of State. Great Seal Authentication – Administrative Services
7
U.S. Department of State. Office of Authentications