Apostille a marriage certificate for use abroad

What a marriage certificate apostille is

A marriage certificate apostille is a certificate from the state where you married that confirms the signature, capacity and seal of the official who certified your marriage record. It lets the record be used in the 129 countries where the Hague Apostille Convention is in force. It does not vouch for what the record says or translate it.

People search for it under many names: marriage certificate, wedding certificate, marriage license or marriage record. For an apostille they all mean one thing, a certified copy of your recorded marriage from the office that keeps it. What that record means for your case is up to the office abroad. The HCCH, the organization behind the Convention, says the receiving country decides how much weight to give the document under the apostille.

When you need one

• Spouse and family visas abroad. Joining a spouse in another country, or moving there together on a residency permit.
• Name changes. Updating a foreign passport, ID card or bank record to your married name.
• Recording the marriage abroad. Registering a U.S. marriage with the civil registry of a spouse's home country.
• Citizenship by descent. The Italian consulate in New York asks for the marriage certificates of every generation in the line.
• Property, inheritance and banking. Showing an office abroad that you are married, or widowed.

You do not need an apostille for a U.S. office. The HCCH says an apostille can never be used to have a document recognized in the country that issued it, so a U.S. marriage certificate filed with a U.S. agency, such as USCIS, does not need one. Some offices abroad do not ask for one either, so read the request first. The HCCH's advice, if in doubt, is to ask the office that will receive the document.

If the destination is outside the Convention, such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar or Egypt, an apostille is the wrong certificate. Those countries need embassy legalization, which usually adds the U.S. Department of State, whose authentication guidance sets out the federal step, and then the embassy. Membership changes: China has taken apostilles since November 7, 2023, Canada since January 11, 2024 and Vietnam since September 11, 2026. Check the Hague apostille country list, the official HCCH status table or our guide to apostille vs authentication vs legalization.

Marriage certificate vs marriage license: which one gets the apostille

The license is the permission to marry. After the ceremony, the license goes back to the county or state, which records the marriage. What gets the apostille is a certified copy of the recorded marriage. Some states call it a certificate and others a certified copy of the license, but a blank license or the ceremony keepsake will not work.

State offices are specific about which paper they will certify:

• Texas. Order a certified copy of the marriage license from the county clerk where it was bought. Texas Vital Statistics only issues verification letters, and it says they are not legal substitutes for a marriage license.
• Missouri. The state sells a certified statement relating to a marriage for $14, but the license itself is held by the recorder of deeds in the county that issued it. If a consulate asks for the marriage certificate, order the recorder's copy.
• Illinois. The Department of Public Health only offers a $5 marriage verification, which is an index search. The certified copy comes from the county clerk.
• Pennsylvania. A certificate signed only by your officiant will not pass. The Department of State wants a copy signed by the register of wills or the clerk of the orphans' court.
• Indiana. A marriage record is a court record there, and the current circuit court clerk of the county where you married must certify the license before the Secretary of State will act.
• Montana. The record stays with the clerk of district court in the county where you bought the license, which may not be where the ceremony took place.
• Utah. The state issues marriage abstracts, $25, for records from 1978 to about 2010, and the county clerk holds the rest. Ask the office abroad whether an abstract is enough.

The keepsake is the other trap. The decorative certificate many couples receive at the ceremony is not the public record, and New York City says the certificate handed over after the ceremony cannot be apostilled. In Nevada, the version that can be apostilled is the certified copy the county recorder issues after the marriage is recorded. Order that copy from the recording office.

County clerk vs state copies: where to order the marriage record

Order from the office your state's apostille desk recognizes. In some states that is only the county, in some only the state, and in others either one. The year matters too, because several states only began keeping marriages centrally in the 20th century, so older records stay with the county that issued the license.

States that keep marriage records with the county

In Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota and Oklahoma, the certified marriage record for an apostille comes from the county, whether from a county clerk, a recorder, a probate court or a court clerk. Pennsylvania's orphans' courts, Louisiana's parish clerks of court and California's county recorders belong in the same group, except that Orleans Parish marriages come from the Louisiana Department of Health. Georgia's apostille authority asks for the copy issued by the county probate court, even though the state sells a $10 marriage certificate. Colorado's county clerk copies go to Denver without any notary. In Washington, D.C., marriage records are kept by the D.C. Superior Court, not DC Health.

States that want the state copy

Rhode Island only apostilles marriage certificates from the Department of Health's Center for Vital Records, signed by the State Registrar or Deputy State Registrar, and refuses a copy from a town clerk however official it looks. New Jersey's marriage records are kept by the Office of Vital Statistics and Registry in Trenton. Ask for a certified copy there, not a certification, which is printed on plain paper for genealogy. In Hawaii, the Department of Health issues marriage certificates, and one issued after January 1, 2025 can go straight to the Lieutenant Governor.

States where either copy works

Massachusetts accepts a copy from the clerk of the city or town where you filed your marriage intention or from the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, which holds marriages from 1936 on. Connecticut's town clerks and its State Vital Records Office both charge $20 for a marriage certificate. Maine, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Arkansas and South Dakota also accept either a state copy or a local one, and in North Carolina the local copy comes from the county Register of Deeds.

Older marriages

If you married before your state began keeping marriage records centrally, the county is usually the only source. Kentucky's state records start in June 1958, Florida's on June 6, 1927, Alabama's in August 1936, South Carolina's in July 1950 and North Carolina's in 1962, so earlier marriages come from the county clerk, clerk of court, probate court or Register of Deeds. In Vermont, the State Archives and Records Administration holds certified marriage records from 2013 and earlier, for $10 a copy plus $10 for its apostille.

State filing rules on older copies

Some apostille offices only certify a recent copy of a marriage record, however old the marriage is. Oklahoma wants marriage licenses certified by the court clerk within the past year, Virginia wants vital records issued within the past 12 months, Connecticut wants documents certified within the last 10 years and Michigan's guidance asks for a record produced within 15 years. Kentucky certifies marriage certificates only when they carry the current State Registrar's signature. These are filing rules of the state offices. The office abroad may have its own view on how recent the copy should be, so ask it too.

Two fee and format quirks

Florida charges $20 instead of $10 to apostille a marriage record certified by a county clerk of court, because it attaches a Certificate of Incumbency confirming the clerk holds office. Virginia requires the triple seal, a two-page Certification of Official Record, on circuit court marriage records, along with the clerk's signature and printed name.

New York City marriage certificates: the extended certificate

A New York City marriage certificate needs three steps. Order the extended certificate for foreign use from the Office of the City Clerk, which carries the City Clerk's original signature. The New York County Clerk in Manhattan then certifies it, and the New York Department of State adds the apostille. The certificate handed over after the ceremony cannot be apostilled.

1. Order the extended certificate. The Office of the City Clerk lists $35 for the first copy and $30 for each additional one. Say it is for foreign use.
2. County clerk certification. The New York County Clerk at 60 Centre Street, Room 141B, certifies the City Clerk's signature for $3.
3. Department of State apostille. The Department of State charges $10 per document. Its walk-in offices in Albany and at 123 William Street in Manhattan can do up to 10 documents the same day, while mailed requests are handled in order of receipt with no published turnaround.
4. Translation, if the destination wants one. After the apostille, so one translation can cover both.

Outside the five boroughs, marriage certificates come from the town or city clerk or the New York State Department of Health. A State Department of Health copy, signed by the Director of Vital Statistics or the State Registrar, goes straight to the Department of State. A copy from a town or city clerk goes to the county clerk first. See our New York apostille guide for every county step, and our birth certificate apostille page for New York City birth records, which need the long form with a Letter of Exemplification.

Las Vegas, Hawaii and other destination-wedding states

A Las Vegas marriage certificate is apostilled by the Nevada Secretary of State in Carson City, wherever you live now. First order the certified copy from the Clark County Recorder, or the Washoe County Recorder for a Reno license, because the decorative certificate from the ceremony cannot be apostilled. Nevada charges $20 per document.

Nevada's Office of Vital Records says marriage records are held at county level, and it can run a $10 search when you do not know the county or the date. Counties set their own copy fees, and the state's county contact sheet asks for a money order or cashier's check made out to the County Recorder. Nevada also sells a 24-hour expedited apostille for $75 per document on top of its $20 fee. If you married in Nevada but live in California today, the apostille still comes from Carson City, because the recorder who certified your copy is a Nevada official.

Hawaii works the same way for island weddings: the Department of Health issues the certificate, and the Lieutenant Governor, not a Secretary of State, adds the apostille for $3. A certificate issued after January 1, 2025 can go straight to the Lieutenant Governor. The rule is the same after any wedding away from home: the state that recorded the marriage apostilles it. See our Nevada and Hawaii apostille guides.

Marriages abroad, spouse visas and name changes

If you married outside the United States, only the country that issued your marriage certificate can apostille it. If you married here and are moving abroad, the immigration office there usually wants your U.S. certificate apostilled. If you are about to marry abroad, the documents to apostille are usually your birth certificate and proof you are free to marry.

Married in Barbados, Bermuda or elsewhere abroad

A public document can only be apostilled by the competent authority of the country that issued it, so a Barbados marriage certificate gets its apostille in Barbados and a Bermuda certificate gets one in Bermuda. Both apply the Convention: Barbados has been a party since November 30, 1966, and the United Kingdom extended the Convention to Bermuda from April 25, 1965. The same goes for Jamaica, a party since July 3, 2021, and for the Bahamas, Mexico and Italy. No U.S. office can apostille a foreign certificate, ours included.

Before you order anything, ask who wants the certificate and why. An apostille only works outside the country that issued the document, and some offices do not need one at all. If you married in Bermuda and need the certificate for a registry in a third country, such as Spain, the apostille comes from Bermuda.

Getting married abroad

Countries that marry foreign couples usually ask for proof of identity and proof that you are free to marry: an apostilled birth certificate, a single status affidavit and, if you were married before, the divorce decree or your former spouse's death certificate. Each country writes its own list, and some add a translation. See our guides to apostilles for marriage abroad, the single status affidavit apostille and the birth certificate apostille.

Spouse visas and residency abroad

When you move abroad with your spouse, or join a spouse in their home country, the immigration office will usually want your U.S. marriage certificate apostilled, often with a translation, together with each spouse's birth certificate. Names and dates have to match across all of them, so compare them before anything is filed. Residency programs often add an FBI background check, which goes to the U.S. Department of State. See our pages for Americans moving abroad, Golden Visa applicants and the FBI report apostille.

Name changes

Your marriage certificate is the document that links your old and new names. New Jersey's Department of Health may ask for it when a name changed through marriage, and offices abroad often want the same link, so plan to apostille it along with the document that shows your new name. Ireland's Foreign Births Register, for example, asks for the civil marriage certificate or another change of name document where a name changed, though its published document list does not mention apostilles.

Citizenship by descent

The Italian consulate in New York asks for marriage certificates in long form, legalized and translated into Italian if issued abroad, for every descendant in the line, including you, as well as the Italian ancestor's marriage record. For a U.S. record, that legalization is an apostille from the state where the marriage was recorded. Read our citizenship by descent guide and the apostille guide for Italy.

Divorce records: the related document you may need

If either of you was married before, expect a request for the divorce decree, for a wedding abroad, a spouse visa or a name change back. A decree is a court record, so it comes from the clerk of the court that granted the divorce, and that court's state apostilles it, just like a marriage certificate.

• Decree or certificate. Some states issue a short divorce certificate from vital records as well as the court's decree. Kansas's divorce certificates show only basic facts, such as names and dates, so if the office abroad wants the terms, order the certified decree from the clerk of the district court. Texas says its divorce verification letters are not legal substitutes for a decree.
• The right clerk. Pennsylvania decrees are signed by the county prothonotary and Mississippi decrees come from the chancery clerk. Hawaii decrees come from the circuit court's Legal Documents Branch, because the Department of Health does not keep divorce records.
• Fee and format quirks. Florida charges $20 instead of $10 for a clerk-certified divorce judgment, and Virginia's court documents need the triple seal.

Our divorce decree apostille page covers the full process, and we can file a decree and a marriage certificate in the same order, even from different states. If a former spouse died, the death certificate apostille follows the same vital records route as your marriage certificate.

Translating an apostilled marriage certificate

An apostille does not translate your marriage certificate. If the office abroad wants its own language, ask it which language, who may translate and whether the translation must also cover the apostille. Usually the apostille comes first and the translation second, so a single translation can include both.

Some offices take a certified translation made in the United States. Others only accept a sworn translator in their own country, and the Italian consulate in New York asks for foreign marriage certificates translated into Italian. New Jersey adds a cost wrinkle: when a notarized translation is attached to a vital record, its apostille office issues a second certificate and charges a second fee, so check whether the destination wants the translation apostilled before you attach it.

We provide certified translation in more than 100 languages and confirm the format before we start. Our notary in Tewksbury can notarize a signed statement when an office asks for one.

How long a marriage certificate apostille takes

With the right certified copy in hand, Economy takes 1 to 3 weeks and Express 1 to 5 business days in most states. Massachusetts and New Hampshire certificates can go same-day. Plan extra time if you still need to order the copy, or if the state adds a step such as New York's county clerk or Indiana's circuit court clerk.

How long the copy takes depends on the office. The Massachusetts Registry usually issues a copy while you wait for $20, or ships mailed orders within 15 to 20 business days. Kansas serves walk-in customers in about 15 to 20 minutes, and Arkansas fills most walk-in requests the same day. County offices set their own schedules, and in Nevada the recorder's processing and mail time comes before anything reaches Carson City, so order early.

Once we hold the copy, the apostille step is predictable. Economy returns by first-class mail, Express by priority mail, and our same-day apostille for Massachusetts and New Hampshire certificates costs $385.95 with a guaranteed 24-hour turnaround. Some state offices are quick at their end: Delaware usually handles mailed requests the same business day and Arkansas most within 24 to 48 hours, while New Jersey lists 12 to 20 business days for standard service. Embassy legalization for a non-Hague country takes longer and is quoted per country.

An apostille does not expire. The office receiving your certificate may want a recently issued copy, and it sets its own rule, so confirm with the consulate, registry or lawyer before you order. See do apostilles expire and how long an apostille takes.

Marriage certificate apostille fees and our prices

With Apostille Depot, a marriage certificate apostille costs $149.95 on Economy or $199.95 on Express, with the state fee included and a free review before you pay. Same-day rush for Massachusetts and New Hampshire certificates is $385.95. Legalization for a non-Hague country is quoted per country, and a new certified copy is paid to the office that issues it.

State fees for a marriage record, as published in 2026:

Those fees are already inside our prices, and we confirm any county step in your quote. A couple sending their marriage certificate and two birth certificates on Economy pays 3 x $149.95, or $449.85. Sending more documents? Ask us about a volume discount. Certified translation, notary service and courier upgrades are optional add-ons.

The certified copy has its own price, paid to the office that issues it. As published in 2026: $35 for a New York City extended certificate, $20 at a Connecticut town clerk, $20 in person at the Massachusetts Registry, $20 in Kansas, $17 in Mississippi, $16 in Nebraska and $25 in Wyoming.

Mistakes that hold up a marriage certificate apostille

Most problems start with the wrong paper: the ceremony keepsake, a state verification letter or statement instead of the certified record, or a copy signed by the officiant. The rest are routing errors, such as ordering from the county of the ceremony instead of the county of the license, or skipping a county step in New York or Indiana.

1. Sending the keepsake. The decorative certificate from the ceremony is not the public record. Order the certified copy from the recording office.
2. Sending a verification letter or statement. Texas, Missouri and Illinois sell letters, statements or index searches that are not the marriage record.
3. Sending the officiant's copy. Pennsylvania wants the copy signed by the register of wills or the clerk of the orphans' court.
4. Ordering from the wrong county. In Montana the record sits in the county where you bought the license, which may not be where you married.
5. Sending a photocopy or a notary's copy. Florida, New Mexico, South Dakota and Texas bar notaries from copying marriage certificates, and Wisconsin refuses photocopies even when a notary has signed them.
6. Using a town copy in Rhode Island. Only the state copy works there.
7. Skipping the county step. New York City records need the New York County Clerk, and Indiana licenses need the circuit court clerk.
8. Sending an old copy. Oklahoma, Virginia, Connecticut, Michigan and Kentucky publish rules on which copies they certify.
9. Filing in the state where you live. The state where you married apostilles the record, even if you have moved.
10. Getting an apostille for a non-Hague country. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait need legalization instead.
11. Asking a U.S. office to apostille a foreign certificate. A Barbados, Bermuda or Italian certificate is apostilled only where it was issued.
12. Taking the apostille off. The HCCH's guidance is never to detach it, so keep it fastened exactly as it arrives.

Ready to start? Start your order or send us a photo for a free review, and we will confirm the version, the office and the total price before you pay. See all our apostille services, including birth certificate, divorce decree and death certificate apostilles for the rest of your file.