Apostille in Boston: the state office, walk-ins and faster options

Apostille Boston address: One Ashburton Place, Room 1719

The Massachusetts apostille office is the Commissions Section, Room 1719, One Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108, inside the John W. McCormack Building. The phone number is (617) 727-2836 and the email is comm@sec.state.ma.us. The same address takes mailed requests, and two regional offices, in Springfield and Fall River, also process certifications.

Getting there by T

The state's directions start at Park Street Station on the Red and Green Lines. Walk through Boston Common toward the State House, turn right on Beacon Street, then take the first left onto Bowdoin Street, which meets Ashburton Place at the top of the hill. From North Station, follow Causeway Street and New Chardon Street, then cross Cambridge Street to Bowdoin Street.

Driving and parking

State directions for the building list several commercial garages nearby, one of them across the street on Staniford Street. Leave time to park and walk, because the 4:00 PM cutoff does not move for traffic.

Security in the lobby

Visitors check in at the security desk in the main lobby with photo identification, name the office they are visiting and wear a temporary badge. Bags go through an X-ray machine and visitors through a metal detector. Say you are going to the Commissions Section in Room 1719.

Apostille Boston hours and counter cutoffs

Call (617) 727-2836 to confirm the counter's hours, then plan around the cutoffs. Documents dropped off after 4:00 PM are picked up the next business day, and four or more documents are ready after 3:00 PM the next business day. The McCormack Building is open to visitors weekdays from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

In practice, one to three documents dropped off before 4:00 PM are done the same day, and the state says there are no exceptions to either cutoff. The building's hours are not the counter's hours: the state's visitor page notes that agencies inside can keep their own, and the building is not open to visitors on state holidays. The Springfield and Fall River offices are open 8:15 AM to 4:30 PM on weekdays, and the state says their document limits and turnaround vary.

What happens at the Massachusetts apostille office counter

Inside the McCormack Building, security checks your photo ID and issues a visitor badge. At Room 1719 you hand over the request form, the original documents and your payment. Staff check the signature of the Massachusetts official or notary on each document and attach an apostille for Hague countries, or a different certificate for other countries.

The apostille confirms that the signature is genuine, the capacity in which the official or notary signed and the identity of any seal or stamp. It does not vouch for what the document says.

If you cannot come back for pickup, tick a return option on the form: first-class mail with a self-addressed stamped envelope, or express mail with a prepaid label and envelope. With nothing ticked, the order waits at the office for pickup.

Where Boston documents come from

Vital and court records need a certified copy before the apostille. Births, deaths and marriages recorded in Boston come from the City of Boston Registry Division, Room 213, City Hall. The state Registry in Dorchester holds Massachusetts events from 1936 on, and divorce records come from the Probate and Family Court that handled the case.

City Hall: the Boston Registry Division

The Registry Division at 1 City Hall Square is open Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and closed on holidays. Unlike the state counter, it takes cash, cards, checks and money orders. The City's own birth certificate page gives the same advice we do: order a certified copy with a raised seal, then take it or mail it to the state, because the Registry cannot issue the apostille.

Some records are restricted to the people listed on them: a birth record when the parents were not married at the birth, and a marriage record when either spouse's parents were not married when that spouse was born.

Dorchester: the state Registry

For any Massachusetts birth, marriage or death from 1936 on, the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics at 150 Mount Vernon Street in Dorchester charges $20 in person and processes most requests immediately, as published in September 2026. See our Massachusetts birth certificate apostille guide, or our birth certificate apostille page for other states.

New Chardon Street: divorce records

The Suffolk Probate and Family Court at 24 New Chardon Street is open weekdays from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Bring your docket number and the court's Request for Copies form, or mail them in, with a money order, bank check or attorney's check made out to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Ask the office abroad whether it wants the certificate of divorce absolute or the certified judgment. See divorce decree apostilles.

Notarized documents, Massachusetts school records certified by the registrar before a notary, and certificates from the Corporations Division go to the same counter. See corporate apostilles.

What the state office in Boston cannot apostille

The Commissions Section will not certify federal documents or documents from other states. 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. A document issued or notarized in another state goes back to that state's apostille office.

• Federal records. The U.S. Department of State apostilles them for $20 per document. A notarized copy of an FBI check, a naturalization certificate, a DD-214, an IRS or Social Security letter or a USCIS notice cannot be apostilled. Our FBI report apostille is $199.95, takes 2 to 6 weeks and is fully remote.
• Documents from other states. They go back to the state of origin, and that includes diplomas and transcripts from out-of-state schools. A New Hampshire document still qualifies for our same-day rush. See our New Hampshire apostille guide.
• Notarized copies of government-issued documents. The state's form says the office does not authenticate them, whether federal, Massachusetts or out-of-state. A notarized passport copy made in Massachusetts falls under that rule, although many other states apostille a properly notarized ID copy from their own notaries. See passport copy apostilles.
• Photocopied signatures. The office certifies original signatures only.

For a country outside the Hague Convention, such as the United Arab Emirates or Qatar, the office issues a different certificate and an embassy step follows, which we quote per country. See legalization for non-Hague countries.

Counter vs mail: how long each route takes

At the Boston counter, one to three documents are done the same day if you drop them off before 4:00 PM, and four or more are ready after 3:00 PM the next business day. Mailed requests take two to three weeks, plus postage both ways. Through us, same-day rush has a guaranteed 24-hour turnaround.

Mailing it yourself? Include the destination country, the check and a prepaid return envelope. For a FedEx or DHL return, the office wants a prepaid envelope with a billing account number, and it does not take credit cards for express postage. Other states run their own clocks: see how long an apostille takes.

A worked example: a Boston birth certificate in one day

Born in Boston and need your own birth certificate apostilled for a dual citizenship application? You can get the certified copy at City Hall in the morning and file it at One Ashburton Place that afternoon. Bring photo ID, the state's request form and a $6 check or money order, and reach the counter before 4:00 PM.

1. 9:00 AM, City Hall. At the Birth window in Room 213, hand in the Registry's request form and $12, with photo ID ready, and ask for a certified copy with a raised seal. The City's website says you can pick up your birth certificate there.
2. Then One Ashburton Place. Clear lobby security, go to Room 1719 and hand over the copy, the request form with the destination country filled in, and the $6 check or money order.
3. Before 4:00 PM. One document is within the three-document limit, so it is done the same day.

The fees come to $18, plus any card fee at the Registry. The plan breaks on a late start, a non-Hague destination or a card at the state counter. Ordering a parent's or grandparent's record instead? If it is restricted, only the people listed on it can order a copy. If a day off costs more than the fees, mail the copy to us or drop it off in Tewksbury. Our citizenship by descent guide covers the rest of a family file.

When Apostille Depot is easier than a trip into Boston

We do not have a Boston office. Apostille Depot is in Tewksbury, north of Boston near Interstate 93 and Interstate 495, and we file Massachusetts documents with the Commissions Section for you. That is easier when the counter's limits get in the way: four or more documents, a tight deadline, a notary step, several states or a non-Hague country.

• A deadline of a day or two. Same-day rush for Massachusetts and New Hampshire documents is $385.95, with a guaranteed 24-hour turnaround. See our same-day apostille service.
• Four or more documents. Call us first and we plan the filing around the counter's three-document limit.
• No time for the trip. Drop off at 1215 Main St, Unit 115, Tewksbury, Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern, or mail it and follow it in the online order tracker.
• A signature that needs a notary. Our founder, Hanson Webb, is a commissioned Massachusetts notary public, and notary service at our office is an add-on.
• Documents from several places. A Boston birth certificate, a New Hampshire marriage certificate and an FBI check go to three offices, under one order with us. Our apostille near me guide explains how.

The counter wins when you work near Ashburton Place and have one to three Massachusetts documents, ready to file, for a Hague country. Otherwise, send it to us: every order starts with a free document review before payment. We are a private service, not a government office and not a law firm. See all our apostille services.

Mistakes that turn one visit into two

The mistakes that force a second trip to Ashburton Place are arriving after 4:00 PM, bringing four or more documents and expecting them the same day, paying with cash or a card, and bringing a photocopy, a federal record or a document from another state. Our free review catches each one before anything is filed.

• Leaving the destination country off the request form.
• A notary block with gaps. The notary must sign exactly as commissioned, with a complete certificate, a clear commission expiration date and a legible seal.
• A hospital keepsake certificate instead of a certified copy.
• Assuming a fixed shelf life. An apostille does not expire, but the office abroad may want a recently issued copy, so confirm with the consulate, court or lawyer. See do apostilles expire.

Start your order online, or send us a photo of the document for a free review first.