Frequently Asked Questions about Puerto Rico Apostille services
General Questions
- Can Puerto Rico documents be legalized by Apostille?
- What types of documents can be legalized in Puerto Rico for use abroad?
- How long does it take to obtain an apostille on a document in Puerto Rico?
- Where can I see reviews of Isarey's Puerto Rico Attestation and Apostille Services?
- What is a Puerto Rico Apostille Stamp and why would I need one?
- What is document legalization in Puerto Rico?
Birth, death and marriage certificates
Criminal record certificates
Academic documents
Answers
Can Puerto Rico documents be legalized by Apostille?
Yes - Puerto Rico documents can be legalized for use abroad with an Apostille Stamp when destined for other signatory countries without additional certification by the destination country.
When Puerto Rican documents are required for non-apostille countries, such as 
United Arab Emirates - Taiwan - Malaysia - Thailand - Qatar they need additional authentication by US Department of State and by the embassy of the destination country in Washington DC.
For further information see:
Puerto Rico Apostille Services
What types of documents can be legalized in Puerto Rico for use abroad?
Apostille stamps can be obtained for documents signed by a Puerto Rico public official, including:
- Puerto Rico birth, death and marriage certificates
- Penal Record Certificates (Certificado de Antecedentes Penales)
- University diplomas and transcripts
- School Certificates
- Court Judgements
Other documents, such as powers of attorney, can be authenticated with an Apostille when certified by a Puerto Rico issued by the notary public.
To confirm whether your document is eligible for apostille authentication in Puerto Rico, please contact us and we’ll check your document free of charge. For further information about our Puerto Rico apostille services and for assistance obtaining official copies of Puerto Rico documents, see:
Puerto Rico Apostille Services
How long does it take to obtain an apostille on a document in Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rican Apostille Stamps can normally be obtained from the Department of State in 3 business days (expedited service).
Where can I see reviews of Isarey's Puerto Rico Attestation and Apostille Services?
You can see reviews from past clients who have used our attestation and apostille services:
What is a Puerto Rico Apostille Stamp and why would I need one?
A Puerto Rico Apostille is a certificate that is affixed to a public document. It certifies the authenticity of the signature appearing on the document as that of an authorized public official in Puerto Rico and confirms the capacity of that official.
Puerto Rico Apostille stamps are often required when submitting a Puerto Rico document, such as a birth certificate, to the authorities of a foreign country or to a foreign embassy in Puerto Rico (for example, as part of a visa or citizenship application). Apostilles are recognised by the authorities and embassies of countries that are members of the Hague Apostille Convention
For more information on Apostilles, see:
The ABCs of Apostilles (PDF)
What is document legalization in Puerto Rico?
Document legalization (or attestation) is a procedure which authenticates a public Puerto Rico document so that it can be submitted in another country for official or legal purposes - for example, if you need to submit a Puerto Rico birth certificate to the authority or embassy of another country, it will often need to be legalized.
Legalzing a document in Puerto Rico certifies the authenticity of the signature appearing on the document as that of an authorized public official in Puerto Rico and confirms the capacity of that official.
- Because Puerto Rico is a member of the Apostille Convention, Puerto Rico documents can be legalized by means of an Apostille Stamp when being submitted to countries that are members of the Hague Apostille Convention
See: What is a Puerto Rico Apostille Stamp? - If a Puerto Rico is required for a country that is not a member of the Apostille Convention, it will need to be legalized both by Puerto Rico authorities and by the embassy of the recipient country (embassy in Puerto Rico or non-resident embassy accredited to Puerto Rico).
See: Document legalization - Wikipedia
How can I obtain an apostille for a Puerto Rico birth, death or marriage certificate?
Apostilles to authenticate Puerto Rico birth, death and marriage certificates can be obtained by submitting the original certificate to the Department of State in San Juan. Only certificates issued from July 2010 are valid for an Apostille.
How can I obtain my Puerto Rico Criminal Record Certificate to use abroad?
A Puerto Rico Criminal Record Certificate (Certificado de Antecedentes Penales) can be requested online: Apply for a Puerto Rico Criminal Record Certificate (in Spanish)
Puerto Rican background checks only confirm a clean criminal record with the Puerto Rico Police Department. For a Federal background check, see: FBI Background Checks
Isarey can also obtain Puerto Rican penal record certificates for clients in need of an Apostille Stamp.
How can I obtain an apostille for my Puerto Rico University Degree and Transcripts?
Apostilles to authenticate Puerto Rico university diplomas and transcripts can be obtained from the Puerto Rico Department of State.
How can I get a quote to certify my documents?
To receive a quote, you can upload your documents using our online quotation form or send us your documents by email. After reviewing your documents and requirements, we will get back to you with a quotation:
If you don’t have the documents available, just describe the documents you need to certify, and we will get back to you with an estimation of cost and delivery times.
Using our quotation form, your documents will be uploaded over a secure connection and immediately encrypted on our server. For added protection, you can upload password-protected files (PDF, Office Documents, RAR folders) and provide us with the passwords separately.
PERSONAL DATA: If your documents contain personal data belonging to people outside your household, please ensure that you are authorised to share this data before uploading your documents. If your documents contain sensitive personal data, such as biometric data, medical data or data on criminal convictions, please ensure that you indicate this when prompted, upon submitting your documents. For further information on our processing of personal data contained in uploaded documents, please see:
Privacy Policy (Customer Inquiries)
For further information on confidentiality in our handling of document content please see:
Confidentiality (Client Content)