Texas apostille service for records bound overseas

Who issues apostilles in Texas

Texas apostilles are issued by the Authentications Unit of the Office of the Texas Secretary of State in Austin. The unit certifies the signatures of Texas public officials and Texas notaries on documents for use outside the United States. It will not apostille federal records, out-of-state documents, or anything meant for use inside the U.S. or its territories.

In-person service moved to 400 West 15th Street, which is also the mailing address for requests (Authentications Unit, Austin, TX 78701). The unit answers at (512) 463-5705. Each request travels with Form 2102, Request for a Universal Apostille, or Form 2103 when the document is part of an adoption.

The universal apostille is a Texas-specific choice. Most states attach an apostille for Hague members and a separate authentication certificate for everyone else. Texas issues one certificate for every destination and notes that countries requesting an authentication certificate may still need the document authenticated by the U.S. Department of State.

Two categories never pass in Austin. The Secretary of State will not apostille documents issued by the federal government, such as an FBI background check or a certificate of naturalization. And it will not take a document issued by another state or country, even if you live in Texas now. Business records on file with the Secretary of State, such as a certificate of formation, follow their own path through the office's Corporation Certifying Team.

Texas documents we apostille

We apostille Texas birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, court orders, notarized documents, school records and business filings. Texas accepts certified copies issued by the state, a county or a city, so the version you already hold may work if it is recent and original.

• Birth and death certificates from the Texas Department of State Health Services Vital Statistics Section or from a local registrar or county clerk. Start with our birth certificate apostille or death certificate apostille guide.
• Marriage licenses certified by the county clerk in the county where the license was bought. Vital Statistics only issues verification letters for marriages, and it says those are not legal substitutes for the license. See marriage certificate apostilles.
• Divorce decrees certified by the district clerk of the county that granted the divorce. Our divorce decree apostille page covers what foreign registries look for.
• Notarized documents signed before a Texas notary, such as a power of attorney, an affidavit or a single status affidavit for a wedding abroad.
• Notarized ID copies and translations. Texas apostilles copies of driver's licenses and passports that carry the owner's signed statement and a full notarial certificate, and notarized translations presented with the document they translate. See passport copy apostilles.
• School records, including transcripts, diplomas, report cards and school letters, once notarized by a Texas notary. Our transcript and diploma apostille page covers the rest of the process.
• Business documents. Certified filings from the Secretary of State go through the Corporation Certifying Team, and notarized copies of company records need a statement signed by a company authority. Our corporate apostille service handles both.

Texas requirements that trip people up

Four Texas rules are worth checking before you file: certified records older than five years, notarizations without a complete certificate, copies of recorded documents made by a notary, and remote online notarizations filed without the notary's ledger. Each has a simple fix when you catch it before filing.

The five-year rule

Certified records must have been issued within the past five years to be eligible. The date that counts is when the certified copy was issued, not when the birth or marriage happened. An older copy has to be replaced, which you can order online through Texas.gov, by mail, or from a local registrar.

Notarial certificates that describe the act

Texas wants a notarial certificate completed at the time of notarization that describes the type of notarization performed, with the notary's seal, signature and date. For ID copies, the owner also signs a statement that the copy is true and accurate.

Recorded documents cannot be notarized

Birth and death certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees and other recorded documents cannot be notarized or turned into certified copies by a notary public. Only the issuing office can certify them.

Remote online notarizations

Online (RON) notarizations can be apostilled when they come with the notarization ledger entry and a certificate stating the act was performed by two-way audio and video. The Secretary of State warns that some countries refuse RON documents even after apostille.

Getting a certified copy in Texas

Texas birth and death certificates come from the Department of State Health Services Vital Statistics Section in Austin or from local registrars and county clerks around the state. The Secretary of State accepts either, so choose the office that can get you a recent certified copy fastest.

Vital Statistics charges $22 for a birth certificate in long or short form and $20 for a first death certificate, with additional death copies ordered at the same time at $3 each, as published in 2026. Online orders through Texas.gov average 20 to 25 business days and mail orders 25 to 30, and a $25 expedite fee shortens processing. Mail goes to P.O. Box 12040, Austin, TX 78711-2040, and walk-in service runs from the North Austin Complex at 4601 W. Guadalupe Street, where most records are ready the same day.

For foreign use, order the long form unless the receiving office tells you otherwise, because it carries the fullest record. Marriage and divorce work differently: the state only issues verification letters, so order a certified marriage license from the county clerk and a certified decree from the district clerk. The Texas Vital Statistics birth records page lists every ordering option.

How long a Texas apostille takes

The Texas office publishes four speeds: same-day at the Monday and Friday walk-in counter, same-day at a Tuesday to Thursday appointment, about three days for bulk requests left in the drop box, and up to two weeks for mail, handled first come, first served.

Each in-person visit is capped at ten documents, and only one appointment per person or company is allowed per day. Bulk requests over ten documents must be registered through the office's QR drop box system and collected within 72 hours or returned with a prepaid label. Staff will not pull a mailed request so you can pick it up at the counter, so choose one channel and stick with it.

On our side, Economy runs 1 to 3 weeks and Express 1 to 5 business days in most states. For Texas, the real date depends on which channel is open when your document is ready and whether a fresh certified copy has to be ordered first. We give you that date during the free review. Texas documents cannot use our same-day rush, which is limited to Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

What a Texas apostille costs

The Texas Secretary of State charges $15 per document, not per page, and $10 per document for adoptions with a $100 cap per child, as published in 2026. Our $149.95 Economy and $199.95 Express packages include that $15 fee, the free review, filing and tracked return mail.

At the counter, Texas takes exact cash, checks or money orders drawn on a U.S. bank and payable to the Office of the Texas Secretary of State, or payment through an SOSDirect account. None of that matters when you order through us, because the state fee is already built into your package price.

Extras are optional and quoted up front: a new certified copy from Vital Statistics or a county, a certified translation when the destination requires one, and faster international courier return. If your document is going to a country outside the Convention, embassy legalization is quoted per country on our non-Hague page. For several documents, ask us about a volume discount.

Getting a Texas apostille without visiting Austin

Texans abroad and former Texans in other states can get a Texas apostille entirely by mail. Send the certified copy or notarized original to our Tewksbury, Massachusetts office, and we prepare Form 2102, file it in Austin and ship the apostilled document back to you.

Documents from Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth and El Paso all end up at the same Austin office, so where you lived in Texas changes nothing. Mexico sits right across the border, and our Mexico apostille guide covers dual nationality, residency and marriage files. Viet Nam has applied the Convention since 11 September 2026 and China since 7 November 2023, so Texas documents headed to either country now take a standard apostille instead of embassy legalization. See our China and India guides and the full Hague country list.

Ready to start? Complete the online application form, or send a photo for a free document review first. Every document type we handle is listed on our apostille services page.