How to Get an Indiana Secretary of State Apostille

To get an Indiana Secretary of State apostille, submit your Indiana-issued public document, a completed Authentication Request Form, and $2 per document to the Business Services Division in Indianapolis, either in person or by mail. The office authenticates the signature and seal on documents that originated in Indiana so they can be used in countries that belong to the Hague Apostille Convention.¹

Which Documents Indiana Can Apostille

The document has to originate in Indiana. That covers birth and death certificates issued by Indiana, marriage licenses and divorce decrees from Indiana courts, adoption papers, school transcripts and diplomas from Indiana schools, and corporate records like articles of incorporation or certificates of good standing filed with the state. Notarized documents also qualify when the notary is an Indiana notary public.¹

If your birth certificate was issued in Ohio or your company was formed in Delaware, Indiana cannot help. You have to contact the Secretary of State in the state where the document was issued. Federal documents follow a different path entirely, covered further down.

How to Submit Your Request

Four steps, and the order matters.

Download the Authentication Request Form from the Secretary of State’s website. You must list the country where you plan to use the document.
Include the original document or a certified copy. Plain photocopies get rejected.
Submit in person or by mail to the Business Services Division at 302 W. Washington Street, Room E018, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Walk-in hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Appointments get priority service.²
Pay $2.00 per document.¹

If you mail your request, include a self-addressed stamped envelope. For overnight return, include a pre-paid airbill. Without a return envelope, the office will not send your documents back.

In-person payment can be by credit card, debit card, check, or money order. Mail submissions accept only checks or money orders.¹

How Long It Takes

Indiana is fast. With an appointment, the office processes up to 10 documents while you wait. Walk-ins without an appointment are handled up to 5 documents on the spot. For mailed requests, documents received before noon go back in the mail the next business day; anything received after noon goes out within two business days.¹

Trackable shipping in both directions is a small cost for peace of mind on documents you cannot easily replace.

Extra Requirements for Notarized Documents

Notarized documents get rejected more often than any other category, almost always because the notarial certificate is incomplete. Every notarized document you submit must show the jurisdiction where notarization occurred, the date, the name of the person who signed, the notary’s signature, and the notary’s seal.¹

School records add another layer. A transcript or diploma needs a statement from a school official, usually the principal or registrar, identifying what the document is. That statement has to be signed in front of the notary. The notary then prints their name in legible block letters and adds their commission number and commission expiration date alongside the signature and seal. Schools frequently miss one of these elements on the first try, so check the paperwork before you send it.

Federal Documents Go Somewhere Else

Indiana cannot apostille federal documents. FBI background checks, federal court records, and anything else issued by a U.S. government agency have to be authenticated by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C., using Form DS-4194.³

The federal timeline is much longer than Indiana’s. Mail submissions take about five weeks from the date the office receives the request. Walk-in drop-offs run roughly two to three weeks, capped at 15 documents per customer per day. Same-day emergency appointments exist only when you need to travel abroad within two weeks due to a family member’s death or life-threatening illness.³

If a foreign employer or immigration office is waiting on an FBI background check, that five-week window is what to plan around.

If Your Destination Country Is Not in the Hague Convention

An apostille only works in Hague Convention member countries. If yours isn’t one, the state apostille alone won’t be accepted. You’ll go through a longer chain: notarize or certify the document, get it authenticated by the Indiana Secretary of State, submit it for federal authentication at the U.S. Department of State, and then present it to the destination country’s embassy or consulate for legalization. Each embassy sets its own fees and timelines, so contact them before you start. Confirm your country’s status against the Hague Conference’s member list before doing anything else.

Common Reasons Applications Get Rejected

Sending a document that was issued in another state. Indiana can only authenticate Indiana documents.
Skipping the Authentication Request Form or leaving the destination country blank. The form is a separate download, not a cover letter you write yourself.
Incomplete notarial certificates: missing commission number, missing seal, or a signature the notary never actually witnessed.
Sending federal documents (FBI checks, federal court records, immigration paperwork) to Indianapolis instead of the U.S. Department of State.
Mailing without a return envelope or pre-paid airbill.¹

Questions about whether a document qualifies, or how it should be prepared, go to the Business Services Division at (317) 234-9768.² A short call before you submit is cheaper than a round trip through the mail with a rejected document.

1
Indiana Secretary of State. Authentications
2
Indiana Secretary of State. Business Services Division – Contact Us
3
U.S. Department of State. Office of Authentications