Apostilles/Authentication of Documents - En Español | FAQ's

  1. Corporations Section: Certified copies of business organization documents on file with the Secretary of State, including articles of incorporation, certificates of limited partnership, articles of organization, certificates of merger, assumed name certificates, and applications for registration of trademarks. Additionally, certificates of existence or fact issued by the Secretary of State evidencing facts from the records of the office.

  2. Notaries Public Unit: Documents that have been notarized. You must submit the complete original document for authentication. For information regarding official certificates or apostilles for school records, please see FAQ #18. Recordable documents, such as birth certificates, may not be certified by a notary public. Form to Request an Official Certificate or Apostille for a Notary Public ( Not for Use in Proceedings Related to the Adoption of a Child.) (#2303)

  3. Statutory Documents Section: Documents issued by a statewide officer, including certified copies of birth/death certificates, vehicle title histories, etc. Documents issued by a county official, including certified copies of marriage licenses, divorce decrees, probated wills, judgments, birth/death certificates, etc.  Documents issued by a city or local registrar, including certified copies of birth/death certificates.  You must submit the complete document for authentication. Documents submitted for authentication must be recently issued certified copies. Form to Request an Official Certificate/Apostille for a Statewide or County Official (Not for Use in Proceedings Related to the Adoption of a Child.)(#2102 )

  4. Requests Relating to the Adoption of a Child: Apostilles or Certificates that are requested for use in proceedings related to the adoption of a child must be made on Form 2103. Form to Request an Official Certificate or Apostille for Use in Proceedings Related to the Adoption of a Child (#2103).

In addition to the above requirements, for all certifications or authentications you will also need to provide the following:

  1. The name of the country where the document will be recorded.
  2. The statutory fee of Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) per certificate or apostille unless the certificate or apostille is requested for use in adoption proceedings. * A check or money order drawn on a U.S. Bank and made payable to the Secretary of State of Texas must be submitted with the documents. Visa, MasterCard and Discover cards are also accepted (subject to a 2.7% convenience fee).
  3. A self-addressed, stamped envelope or pre-paid overnight airbill/envelope.

* If the Certificate/Apostille is requested for use in proceedings related to an adoption, the fee is $10.00 per Certificate/Apostille, and the total fees may not exceed $100.00 for the adoption of each child.

The Secretary of State does not translate documents.

In-Person Service

Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday (call for holiday hours)

Processing time is dependent on the number of in-person customers
and the number of documents they have.

Secretary of State Addresses

The following are the telephone numbers, overnight and regular mail addresses for each area.

Please note that the processing time for requests received by mail varies with the volume of requests
received on a daily basis. The use of overnight mail service does not expedite processing time.

Overnight Mail
Regular Mail
Corporations Section:
Corporations Section:
(512) 463-5578
Secretary of State Secretary of State
Corporations Section Corporations Section
1019 Brazos, B-13 P.O. Box 13697
Austin, TX 78701 Austin, TX 78711-3697
Notary Public Unit:
Notary Public Unit:
(512) 463-5705
Secretary of State Secretary of State
Notary Public Unit Notary Public Unit
1019 Brazos, B-13 P.O. Box 13375
Austin, TX 78701 Austin, TX 78711-3375
Statutory Documents Section:
Statutory Documents Section:
(512) 463-5705
Secretary of State Secretary of State
Statutory Documents Section Statutory Documents Section
1019 Brazos, B-13 P.O. Box 12887
Austin, TX 78701 Austin, TX 78711-2887

Questions not covered by the above information for documents authenticated by the Notary Public
Unit and the Statutory Documents Section may be addressed to: authentications@sos.state.tx.us

Additional information is available in the Apostille PowerPoint presentation.