TYPES OF DOCUMENTS
Birth Certificate
You will need a Birth Certificate Apostilled or Legalized if you plan to move to another country:
- For work
- For school
- For marriage
- For divorce
- To obtain dual citizenship
- To buy property
- To obtain inheritances
- To retire in another country
- And more
A Birth Certificate is a Vital Document. A Certified Copy of a Birth Certificate with a raised seal will be required for foreign use. An uncertifed copy cannot be used for foreign, legal or identificational purposes. Obtaining a Certified Copy of a Birth Certificate requires a unique process and those requirements differ from State to State. In other words, each State has a different and unique requirement and procedure to obtain a Certified Copy of a Birth Certificate.
Certified Copies of a Birth Certificate are official copies that are issued by either the State or County government. The Apostille of that Certification confirms that the signature on the Certified Copy of a Birth Certificate is the true signature of this person.
Before a Birth Certificate can be Apostilled, you must mail in a valid (recent) Certified Copy issued by the County Clerk or State to our office for processing, Birth Certificates can only be Apostilled by the State who issued the certificate. In other words, the Secretary of State does not have the authority to Apostille a Birth Certifcate that was issued from another State.
However, not every Birth Certificate qualifies as a Certified Copy that can be Apostilled by the Secretary of State. For instance, some states have established time limits on how old a Certified Copy can be. Most States can Apostille a Birth Certifcate that is older than 5 years but in some states the Birth Certificate cannot be older than 12 months. Other states will not Apostille a Birth Certificate that has been issued by the County Clerk or the Health Department.
Therefore, we highly recommend that you:
- Utilize Vitachek to obtain your Vital Documents, such as Birth Certificate nationwide. Vitacheck has a quick turnaround in providing Certified Copies of Vital Documents. They are accurate and they are dependable. Vitalchek is simple, fast and secure method of ordering your family's most important documents from the privacy of your home or office, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. You can even ask Vitalcheck to send the Certified Copy to us, so we can begin processing your Apostille.
- Scan and upload a colored copy of your documents to us, either via our website, email or fax. This will allow us to review your documents before you mail the originals to us to be Apostilled.
If by chance, the State does not accept your Birth Certificate we will contact you with the State's instructions.
Once the Certified English Birth Certificate is properly received you can mail it to us to be Apostilled. We can also provide Certified Translation Services into the language required by the Country of Designation.
Here at Ezra Notary and Apostille,