New York Apostille FAQs

Apostilles for New York birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates and dissolution of marriage certificates are issued by the New York Department of State with offices in Manhattan and Albany. Birth and Death certificates signed by the Director of Vital Statistics or New York State Registrar are in most cases eligible for an Apostille or Authentication without prior certification. However, certificates issued by a local or county official or county Department of Health must first be certified by the County Clerk of the county where the document was issued. New York City birth and death certificates may require a letter of exemplification, depending on which Registrar signed the certificate.
Please contact us for assistance.

Marriage certificates must be issued by the New York State Department of Health and signed by the Director of Vital Statistics or New York State Registrar. For New York City marriage certificates, eligibility for an Apostille depends on which City Clerk signed the certificate.

New York marriage certificates can be short or long/extended. Extended certificates contain additional information about the spouses and witnesses to the marriage. While both short and long form certificates are eligible for New York Apostilles, some foreign authorities may specifically require an extended certificate.

To check whether your New York certificate is valid for an Apostille, please contact us for a free eligibility check. Copies of vital records, including notarized copies, cannot be used to obtain Apostilles.

For further information about obtaining apostille stamps on New York vital records, see:
Apostille New York Vital Records

New York Statewide criminal histories can be submitted to the New York Department of State in Manhattan or Albany for an Apostille. New York criminal histories can be obtained from:
New York State Office of Court Administration
Some overseas authorities requiring proof a clean criminal history in the United States will not accept a New York criminal history certificate but will require a Federal background check issued by the FBI.
See FBI Background Checks.

To obtain an Apostille affixed to an original New York School record (High School diploma, University degree certificate or transcripts), contact the school to arrange a certified copy. The certified copy must be signed by the school official in the presence of a New York notary public.

Isarey can arrange notarization of Texas high school diplomas and collection of notarized degrees and transcripts from New York Universities.

Otherwise, an apostille can be affixed to a notarized true copy of the original school record made from a good-quality scan.

For further information about authenticating New York university and school certificates, see:

• Apostille STATE University Diplomas

New York university degree certificates, course transcripts and high school diplomas can also be authenticated as notarized copies. A true copy is certified by a notary (this can often be done from a scan without having to submit the original) and then authenticated with an Apostille Stamp from the Washington DC Secretary of State. Authenticated documents can also be attested by the embassies of Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates.

For further information, see:
University Degrees and School Records

Documents such as New York Powers of Attorney and Affidavits must be certified using a correctly worded certificate of acknowledgement or Jurat. Notarized documents must be certified by the respective New York County Clerk before being submitted to the New York Department of State for an Apostille.

• New York City County Clerks
• Directory Of New York County Clerks

New York Apostille Stamps can normally be obtained in 1 - 2 business days

Isarey submits all client documents physically to the New York Department of State in Manhattan to ensure expedited processing, whereas documents submitted to the Department of State by mail can take up to 4 weeks.

Apostilles issued by the New York Department of State on or after April 9, 2013 can be verified online. To verify Apostilled issued before April 9, 2013, contact the New York Department of State by phone:
Verify a New York Apostille or Certificate of Authentication

The New York Department of State issues Apostilles to certify birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates issued in New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) and across New York State. Apostilles are issued for notarized documents, including school records and university diplomas, certified by a New York County Clerk, certified copies of corporate documents filed with the Division of Corporations (including certificates of incorporation and articles of organization), Certificate of Status (good standing) and New York background checks from the Division of Criminal Justice Services.

If documents are required for submission to the authorities or consulate of a signatory country of the Hague Apostille Convention, an apostille stamp affixed by the Secretary of State of New York will generally be recognized directly as confirming authenticity, although a certified translation may also be required if presenting to a country that does not have English as an official language.

If documents are required for presentation in a country that is not a signatory to the apostille convention (e.g. United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Taiwan, Vietnam), then an apostille stamp is not valid. Documents will need to be authenticated at State level in New York, then by the State Department Authentication Division, and finally by the embassy or consulate of the destination country in the United States. A Certified Translation may also be required.

For further information about New York apostilles and authentications or to obtain a quote for assistance submitting your documents, with free eligibility pre-check, international collection and delivery by courier, please contact us or send us your documents using our Online Quotation Form.

A New York Certificate of Good Standing (Certificate of Status) can be submitted to the New York Department of State for an Apostille. Certificates of Status, confirming the existence of a corporation or other business entity, may be obtained by submitting a written request to the Division of Corporations.
See New York Division of Corporations (Certificate of Status)

For further information, see:
Apostille New York Company Documents

Certificates issued for births taking place in the five boroughs of New York City (Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island ) can be submitted to the New York Department of State for an Apostille. However only certificates issued by certain registrars are valid for Apostilles. Other certificates can only be apostilled when submitted with a letter of exemplification. Both short form and long form New York City birth certificates can be certified by Apostille, but some authorities require a long form certificate (containing additional information). If you only have a short form certificate, check with the recipient authority that they will accept it.

A letter of exemplification is required, depending on the official who signed the certificate. Letters of exemplification are issued by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, confirming that the birth certificate which they accompany is a true and certified copy. Letters of exemplification are not issued separately from the certificate. If your certificate is not valid for an apostille and you don’t already have the letter of exemplification, you will need to order a new certificate from VitalChek or New York City Department of Health (Birth Certificates).

To check whether your New York City birth certificate is valid for an Apostille without a letter of exemplification, please contact us for a free document pre-check.

A letter of exemplification certifies that a birth or death certificate is a true and certified copy. Not all New York City birth and death certificates require a letter of exemplification from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to be eligible for an Apostille; it depends on which Registrar’s signature appears on the certificate. Please contact us and we’ll confirm whether a letter of exemplification is required.
If you do not have a letter of exemplification attached to your birth or death certificate and one is required for a New York Apostille, you will need to order a new certificate from VitalChek or New York City Department of Health (Birth Certificates).

New York State birth and death certificates (excluding New York City: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) can be ordered through:

• Vitalchek (New York State Vital Records)
• New York State Department of Health

New York City birth and death certificates (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) can be ordered through:

• Vitalchek (New York State Vital Records)
• New York City Department of Health (Birth Certificates)

New York State marriage certificates (excluding New York City: not Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) can be ordered through:

• Vitalchek (New York State Vital Records)
• New York State Department of Health

New York City marriage certificates (1950 - present):

• New York City - Office of the City Clerk

New York State Divorce Certificates, Dissolution of Marriage Certificate (including New York City):

• Vitalchek (New York State Vital Records)
• New York State Department of Health

New York State Divorce Decrees:

• New York City County Clerks
• Directory Of New York County Clerks

Historical New York City marriage certificates (1866 - 1949):

• Historical NYC birth, death and marriage records

Historical New York City certificates (death certificates issued before 1948, birth certificates issued before 1909):

• New York City Municipal Archives

You can see reviews from past clients who have used our attestation and apostille services:

• ISAREY reviews on Trustpilot
• ISAREY reviews on Google

A New York Certificate of Incorporation or Article of Organization (LLC) can be authenticated with an Apostille Stamp from the New York Secretary of State. A certified copy of the certificate is required and can be ordered online from the NYS Division of Corporations

For further information, see:
Apostille New York Company Documents