Federal paperwork takes one road — Washington, D.C.
The single most expensive mistake in this work is sending a federal document to a state office. The Ohio Secretary of State can only certify Ohio officials and Ohio notaries. Anything carrying a federal signature is certified by the U.S. Department of State instead. Which of these three routes you're on decides your timeline.
ROUTE A
Documents you already hold
An FBI Identity History Summary, a naturalization or citizenship certificate, a federal court order, or a military record you already have on hand goes straight to the Office of Authentications — no prior step needed.
ROUTE B
Documents we obtain first
Don't have the record yet? We order it for you — an IRS Form 6166 residency letter or a Social Security benefit letter — then move it straight into the authentication queue. FBI Identity History Summaries must already be in hand before we can begin
ROUTE C
Non-Hague destinations
Countries outside the Hague Convention receive a certificate of authentication, which then travels to that country's embassy or consulate for final legalization. We manage that longer chain end to end.
Federal documents we apostille
If your document isn't listed, it's still worth asking. Most federally issued or federally notarized records can be authenticated with the right original and the correct request form.
Background & identity
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FBI Identity History Summary
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FBI clearance (no-record) letter
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Certificate of Naturalization
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Certificate of Citizenship
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USCIS immigration records
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Consular Report of Birth Abroad
Tax & financial
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IRS Form 6166 residency letter
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IRS account & return transcripts
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IRS Form 8802 confirmations
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SSA benefit verification letters
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SSA earnings statements
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Federal tax status letters
Court, legal & IP
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Federal court orders & judgments
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Bankruptcy court records
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Patent & trademark documents
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DEA registrations
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Affidavits notarized in D.C.
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Single-status / no-marriage affidavits
Trade, health & service
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FDA certificates of free sale
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FDA GMP / export certificates
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USDA export certificates
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DD-214 & military service records
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Federal agency letters
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Documents signed by a federal official
A note on FBI checks: a state police letter, a county record, or a third-party "national" report is not a substitute. Only the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services division issues the Identity History Summary that the Department of State will authenticate — and many countries require it to be less than three to six months old when you file it abroad.
Four steps, filing cabinet to foreign registry
Each stage has to finish before the next begins — which is why a missing destination country, or a printout in place of an original, is what adds days to a file. You hand us the goal; we run all four.
1
Tell us the destination country
This decides everything: whether you receive an apostille or an authentication, whether an embassy step follows, and how recent your FBI or tax document has to be when it lands abroad.
2
We obtain or review the document
Already have the original? We check it for the exact rejection traps the Department of State looks for. Don't have your IRS or SSA letter yet? We can request it on your behalf. FBI Identity History Summaries need to be obtained before you reach this step.
3
We submit to Washington, D.C.
We prepare Form DS-4194, pay the government fee, and submit your original to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications — then track it through processing so you don't have to chase it.
4
We collect and return
The finished apostille comes back to us. For Hague countries it ships straight to you. For non-Hague countries, we carry it on to the embassy for legalization, then return it — or send it directly to the authority abroad.
Apostille or authentication?
The U.S. Department of State issues both. Which one you need depends entirely on the country where the document will be filed — not on the document itself.
Hague Convention countries
Apostille
For the 125+ countries in the 1961 Hague Convention, a single apostille certificate is enough. Once it's attached under the seal of the Department of State, the document is ready for use abroad with no further consular step. India, Mexico, Germany, Spain, Japan, Brazil, and most of Europe and Latin America fall into this group.
Non-member countries
Authentication + legalization
Countries outside the convention receive a certificate of authentication instead. That certificate then travels to the destination country's embassy or consulate for final legalization. The UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, China, Vietnam, and Egypt commonly require this longer chain — which we handle for you.
An apostille confirms that a signature and seal are authentic. It does not verify or approve what the document says, and it can't be used for documents that stay inside the United States. A Hague apostille issued for a non-Hague country — or the reverse — is not valid, so the destination is always the first thing we confirm
Federal apostille pricing & turnaround
We're based in Ohio, not Washington, D.C. — so unlike shops sitting a few blocks from the Office of Authentications, every federal file we handle travels there and back. We price and time our service honestly around that, in three clear parts: our service fee, the government's fee, and shipping.
Standard authentication
$135
$85 service fee + $20 government fee + $30 tracked, insured round-trip shipping
We prepare your file and mail it to the Office of Authentications, then track it in both directions. Realistic total time is 3 to 4 weeks door to door — the Department of State's own queue runs 10–12 business days once your documents arrive, and that clock doesn't start until they do.
D.C. courier handling
$265
$150 service fee + $20 government fee + $95 courier drop-off & pickup in D.C.
We route your file through a Washington, D.C.-based courier who hand-delivers it to the walk-in window and collects it on completion — cutting out a full leg of mail transit each way. Realistic total time is 2 to 3 weeks.
A note on true "same-day" service: the Department of State's only same-day option is an in-person emergency appointment reserved for documented life-or-death situations — travel in the next 24–48 hours for a medical or legal emergency. It isn't a service any company, including us, can sell for routine visa, residency, or job filings, and we won't promise turnaround times that only apply to shops with a physical desk in D.C.
The $20 government fee is passed through at cost — the same amount the Department of State charges anyone who applies directly. Notarization and embassy legalization for non-Hague countries are billed separately at cost. Multi-document and family orders are quoted on request.