About Apostille Depot: apostille service since 2012

How we started

Apostille Depot grew out of Neighborhood Parcel, the shipping and business services center Hanson Webb was running in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. Clients kept arriving with documents that a consulate or an office abroad had turned away, so in 2012 he built a service that does one job: getting U.S. documents ready to use in another country.

The stories at that counter repeated. A birth certificate came back from a consulate. A power of attorney was refused in another country. A job offer abroad stalled because a background check was missing a stamp that no one could explain. The people carrying those documents did not need another government web page. They needed someone who knew the difference between a certified copy and a notarized copy, which office has authority over which document, and what the country receiving it asks for.

That is the service Hanson started. Apostille Depot files with the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, the New Hampshire Secretary of State and every other state apostille office, plus the U.S. Department of State for federal records such as FBI background checks. Same-day handling for Massachusetts and New Hampshire documents came later, after enough clients arrived with flights booked and deadlines measured in hours.

We are still a Neighborhood Parcel company, and we keep the team small on purpose. When you call, you reach the people who handle your documents, not a call center.

What Apostille Depot does

We take a U.S. document from the version you hold to one that is ready for use abroad. That means a free review, any notarization or certified translation it needs, filing with the office that issues the apostille, embassy legalization when the country is outside the Hague Convention, follow-up until it is issued, and tracked return shipping.

The apostille itself always comes from a government office. For a state document, that is the Secretary of State of the state that issued it or commissioned the notary, the Lieutenant Governor in Alaska, Hawaii and Utah, or the Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia. For a federal record, it is the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C., which charges $20 per document. Our job is to get the document to the right office in the right form, and to bring it back to you.

Documents we handle most

• Vital records. Certified copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates and death certificates from a state or county vital records office.
• Court records. Divorce decrees and court orders, certified by the clerk of the court.
• Notarized documents. Powers of attorney, affidavits and single status statements, plus notarized copies of a passport or another ID.
• School records. Diplomas and transcripts, usually with the registrar's signature notarized first.
• Company documents. Certificates of good standing, articles and resolutions. See corporate apostilles.
• Federal records. FBI background checks, naturalization certificates, DD-214s, IRS and Social Security letters and USCIS notices, all through the U.S. Department of State.

Two rules we apply to every order

Federal records take the federal route only. An FBI background check, a naturalization certificate, a DD-214, an IRS or Social Security letter or a USCIS notice goes to the U.S. Department of State, and a notarized copy of one of those records cannot be apostilled. ID documents are the exception: a properly notarized copy of a passport, driver's license, green card or Social Security card can be apostilled by the state where the notary is commissioned.

The extras that keep a file moving

• Notary service at our Tewksbury office, when a signature has to be notarized before the state will apostille it.
• Certified translation in more than 100 languages, in the format your destination accepts, which we confirm before we start.
• Courier upgrades for the trip to us and the trip back.
• Embassy legalization for countries outside the Hague Convention, quoted per country.

What we do not do

We are not a law firm and not a government office. We do not give legal advice, we do not issue apostilles ourselves, and we do not promise how an office abroad will treat your document. What we can tell you is what the issuing office requires and what the receiving country has published.

• No legal advice. If your question is about your rights, your visa case or how a court will read a document, it belongs with a lawyer. We will tell you plainly when that is the case.
• No government authority. We cannot sign, seal or certify anything on a state's behalf. The certificate on your document comes from a Secretary of State, a Lieutenant Governor, the Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia or the U.S. Department of State.
• No acceptance guarantees. An apostille confirms the signature, capacity and seal of the official who signed your document. It does not verify what the document says, it does not translate it, and it does not bind the office that receives it.
• No fixed shelf life. An apostille does not expire, but a consulate, court or registry abroad may want a recently issued document. We do not guess at that window. Confirm it with the office handling your file, and read whether apostilles expire.
• No shortcuts for federal records. We will not file a notarized copy of an FBI report or a naturalization certificate with a state as a way around the U.S. Department of State, because a notarized copy of those records cannot be apostilled.

The free document review

The free review checks your document against the rules of the office that will issue the apostille and what the receiving country has published. It happens before you pay. If the document will not pass, we tell you why and what to order instead, so you are not paying to file a document the issuing office would send back.

Hanson or a specialist he trained runs the same checklist on every order:

1. Document type and jurisdiction. State or federal record, public record or private paper. Each answer changes which office has authority and what preparation the document needs.
2. Signature and certification. The apostille office certifies an original signature it can verify. A photocopy, a hospital keepsake certificate or an incomplete notary block fails here.
3. Destination. Whether the country is a Hague member, whether it wants a translation, and whether the receiving office has asked for a recently issued copy.
4. Route and price. The office, the steps in order, the turnaround for your service level and the total, with the government fee already included.

A typical catch: someone moving to Spain sends us the birth certificate from their baby book. It is a hospital keepsake, not a certified copy from a vital records office, so no Secretary of State will apostille it. The review spots it on day one, we tell them which office to order a certified copy from, and the apostille order starts when the right copy arrives.

What the review cannot do is predict an individual decision abroad. We check what the issuing office requires and what the destination has published. The office receiving your document still makes its own call, which is why we ask you to confirm any requirement you are unsure of with the consulate, court or lawyer handling your file.

What happens after you order

After the review and your order, we file the document with the office that has authority over it and follow up until the certificate is issued. You can see each stage in the online order tracker. If an office raises a problem, we call you, explain what it wants and arrange the fix with you.

• What to send. The version the review confirmed: a certified copy from the vital records office, a copy certified by the court clerk or an original signed before a notary. For an FBI report, email us the electronic result instead. Photocopies are refused at the first step.
• Where it goes. To the Secretary of State of the state that issued the document or commissioned the notary, to the U.S. Department of State for federal records, and on to the embassy or consulate when the country is outside the Hague Convention.
• How you follow it. Through the online order tracker, or by phone during business hours.
• If an office sends it back. Occasionally a state office refuses a document, usually because a signature is not on file or a notarization is incomplete. We call you, explain exactly what the office wants and arrange the fix, whether that is a new certified copy, a corrected notarization or a different route.
• How it comes back. First-class mail on Economy, priority mail on Express, or the courier upgrade you choose, anywhere in the world.

Our how it works page covers each stage in more detail, including how to send your documents and how long each step takes.

Prices and service levels

Our prices include the government fee. Economy is $149.95 per document with a 1 to 3 week turnaround, Express is $199.95 with 1 to 5 business days in most states, and FBI report apostilles are $199.95 with 2 to 6 weeks. Same-day rush is $385.95 for Massachusetts and New Hampshire documents only.

You never pay the government fee separately. The Massachusetts fee, for example, was $6 per document as published in mid-2026, and the U.S. Department of State charges $20 per document for federal records. Both are already inside our prices.

The optional add-ons are certified translation in more than 100 languages, notary service at our office and courier upgrades, and we quote them before you pay. A worked example: a couple sending two birth certificates on Economy pays 2 x $149.95, or $299.90, with both state fees included. Sending several documents? Ask us about a volume discount. The full list of what we handle is on our apostille services page.

Coverage: every state and 120+ countries

We file with the apostille offices of all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and with the U.S. Department of State for federal records. Since 2012 our clients' documents have gone to more than 120 countries, from Hague members that take an apostille to countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar that need embassy legalization.

The state that matters is the one that issued the document or commissioned the notary, not the state where you live now. A family with a New Jersey birth certificate, a New York marriage certificate and a Pennsylvania death certificate needs three different offices, and we file all three under one order. Our apostille by state directory lists every office and its fee. The states our clients ask about most are below.

Hague countries and the rest

On September 28, 2026, the official HCCH status table listed 130 contracting parties to the Apostille Convention, with the Convention in force for 129 of them. Recent arrivals include China (November 7, 2023), Canada (January 11, 2024) and Vietnam (September 11, 2026), and Thailand's membership takes effect on February 28, 2027. Countries outside the Convention, such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Egypt, need the longer legalization chain instead, which we quote per country.

For the details, see the Hague apostille country list, our guide to non-Hague countries and apostille vs authentication vs legalization.

How to check us before you send anything

You should be able to verify any service before you mail it your birth certificate. With us, you can call (978) 424-4629 and reach the team, visit the office at 1215 Main St, Unit 115, Tewksbury, read our Google reviews, where our average rating is 4.9, and read about our founder, Hanson Webb.

• A real address. 1215 Main St, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876, with drop-off and pickup during business hours.
• A phone a person answers. (978) 424-4629, Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern.
• A named founder. Hanson Webb, a commissioned Massachusetts notary public, who founded the company in 2012.
• Published prices. The government fee is included, and nothing is filed before you have seen the total.
• Reviews. A 4.9 average rating from our Google reviews. See our reviews and testimonials.
• A paper trail. Company announcements and press releases are on our news page.

Use the same test on any service you consider. An anonymous website with no address, prices that only appear at checkout and a promise that your document will be accepted abroad are all reasons to keep looking. No private service can promise what a foreign office will decide.

How we handle your documents

Your documents carry some of your most sensitive details. A photo or scan is enough for the free review, and you mail an original only after we have confirmed the route. While it is in our care, our small team in Tewksbury handles it, and it comes back by tracked shipping you can follow online.

Files you send for a review are used to process your order, and we do not sell your information. The details are in our privacy policy.

This is also why a physical, named business matters. When you mail an original birth certificate or email an FBI report, you should know exactly who receives it. With us, it is a small team at a Tewksbury address you can visit.

How to reach Apostille Depot

Call (978) 424-4629, Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern, or send your document for a free review through our contact page. The office is at 1215 Main St, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876, and drop-off and pickup are welcome during those hours.

• Phone: (978) 424-4629
• Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern
• Office: 1215 Main St, Unit 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876
• Free review: contact us with a photo of your document and the destination country
• Order online: our apostille application form takes about three minutes

Tewksbury is close to Interstate 93 and Interstate 495, an easy stop from much of eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. Our Massachusetts apostille and New Hampshire apostille guides cover the two states our same-day rush serves, and general questions are answered on our FAQ page. Journalists writing about apostilles or international paperwork can reach Hanson through the contact page.