Document authentication sits alongside the other record procedures covered in Pennsylvania name change, ID, and vital record procedures. This article covers the apostille path specifically: what the Commonwealth is certifying, which documents qualify, what has to happen to the paper before it reaches Harrisburg, and what to send with the request.
What a Pennsylvania apostille certifies
An apostille does not verify that the contents of a document are true. It verifies that the signature, seal, and capacity of the official who signed it are genuine. The Secretary of the Commonwealth authenticates the signatures of Pennsylvania public officials on records headed for use outside the United States, and the Office of Notaries, Commissions and Legislation is the office that issues the certificates.
The destination country decides which form of authentication it wants. Countries that joined the 1961 Hague Convention accept an apostille with no further legalization. Countries outside the convention have historically required a certification followed by consular legalization at that country’s embassy or consulate.
Pennsylvania has simplified this on its end. The Department now issues a single universal Apostille/certificate for both convention and non-convention destinations, printed with an electronic seal in black ink rather than a raised gold seal, with Spanish and French translations added to each section. The change affects the appearance of the certificate only, not what a requester submits. Certificate numbers can be checked through the Department’s online document search.
Which documents qualify
The Department authenticates documents signed by a Pennsylvania official with an official seal, in original form. Photocopies are rejected. Records that commonly go through the process include:
- Birth and death certificates. These come from the Department of Health’s Division of Vital Records rather than from a county office. A record presented for authentication carries the signature of the state registrar, and the eligibility rules for ordering a Pennsylvania death certificate apply before the apostille step begins.
- Court orders, including name change decrees. A decree entered by a court of common pleas is certified by the prothonotary of that county. The petition process behind a Pennsylvania name change has to finish and the order has to be entered before the decree can be authenticated for use abroad.
- Marriage certificates and divorce decrees. These are county records. A marriage certificate is signed by the register of wills or the clerk of the orphans’ court in the county where the license was issued.
- Adoption paperwork. Home studies, letters of reference, and the supporting certificates that accompany an international adoption file.
- Business records. Articles of incorporation, certificates of good standing, bylaws, and similar filings.
- Diplomas, transcripts, and criminal history record checks. These are not signed by a Pennsylvania public official in the form the Department can authenticate directly, so they are notarized by a Pennsylvania notary public first, and the notary’s signature is what gets authenticated.
County-issued records carry a further wrinkle: the signature has to belong to the clerk in charge of the office, not an assistant or a deputy. A record signed by a deputy comes back unprocessed, and the county has to re-issue it over the right signature before the request can move forward.
Marriage, divorce, and adoption files are held at the county level in Pennsylvania. The Department directs requesters to the county government office where the record was filed, then to Harrisburg for the certificate itself.
Preparing the document before it goes to Harrisburg
Most rejected requests fail at this stage rather than in Harrisburg. Two questions decide what has to happen first: who signed the document, and whether that signature is one the Commonwealth can verify.
A document signed by a Pennsylvania notary public is the most common case. Under 57 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 315, the notarial act is evidenced by a certificate executed at the time of the act, signed and dated by the notary, naming the county and state where the act took place, giving the notary’s title of office, and showing the commission expiration date. On a paper record the official stamp is affixed near the notary’s signature in a form capable of photographic reproduction.
The stamp itself has a prescribed format. 57 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 317 requires a rubber stamp showing “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” the words “Notary Seal,” the notary’s commissioned name and title, the county where the notary keeps an office, and the commission expiration date, within a maximum height of one inch and width of three and one-half inches. A stamp missing any of those elements, or an expired commission date, stops the authentication.
Notary charges are capped by regulation. 4 Pa. Code § 167.3 sets a maximum of $5 for taking an acknowledgment from the first individual named in the certificate, $2 for each additional name in the same certificate, and $5 for witnessing or attesting a signature. Electronic and remote notaries may add up to $20 per notarial act performed on an electronic record or using communication technology. Clerical charges for copying, postage, or travel sit outside that schedule and are itemized separately on the receipt the notary provides.
Submitting the request
Requests arrive three ways: by mail, through the drop box at the North Office Building, or at a scheduled appointment for same-visit processing. The package is the same in each case.
Assemble the original documents
Send originals, not copies, with signatures and seals intact. Each document is counted separately for the fee, and the charge runs per document rather than per page. Documents processed by the office are stapled, and the staple is not to be removed afterward, since the certificate and the underlying record are treated as one instrument.
Write a cover letter or use the Request for Legalization form
The Department accepts a plain cover letter or its Request for Legalization of Documents form, published in English, Spanish, and Chinese. Either one has to identify the destination country and give the requester’s name, phone number, email address, and full mailing address. Naming the country matters because the destination determines how the certificate is issued.
Enclose payment
The charge is $15 per document under 4 Pa. Code § 161.1, payable to “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania” by personal check, money order, or cashier’s check. Instruments drawn on a foreign bank have to be in U.S. dollars and carry a routing number. Cash is not accepted by mail or through the drop box.
Enclose return postage
A self-addressed, stamped envelope goes in with the request. A courier return requires a prepaid air bill, and the Department no longer accepts FedEx or DHL for return shipment. On a UPS air bill, the requester is listed as both sender and recipient, or the label is changed to match.
Mail or deliver the package
The mailing address is Pennsylvania Department of State, Apostilles & Certifications, North Office Building, Room 201, 401 North Street, Harrisburg, PA 17120-0029. For driving directions, 401 North Street, Harrisburg is the street address to enter; the office is upstairs in Room 201.
Fees, payment methods, and turnaround
The fee is flat. Each document costs $15 regardless of length, and the same $15 applies to a Certificate of Good Standing for Notary Public, per the schedule at 4 Pa. Code § 161.1. A ten-page contract bearing one notarization is one document; three separate transcripts are three.
Mailed requests take about two to three weeks to process, and that estimate excludes transit time in both directions. Requesters who want the certificate faster can schedule an appointment for certification of documents and have the work completed during the visit. The appointment request asks for the number of documents, counted as documents rather than pages, and the destination country.
Questions about a pending request go to the Bureau of Notaries, Commissions, and Legislation by phone at (717) 787-5280 or by email to the certifications mailbox listed on the Department’s document certification page.
Federal documents go to the U.S. Department of State
Pennsylvania cannot authenticate a signature that does not belong to a Pennsylvania official. FBI background checks, federal court documents, certificates of naturalization, IRS certifications of U.S. tax residency, USDA animal and plant certifications, and patent and trademark filings are all federal records, and the U.S. Department of State’s authentications office issues apostilles for them.
The federal submission uses Form DS-4194 together with the fee and the documents themselves. Federal requirements mirror the state ones in most respects: originals or certified copies, a legible signature with the official’s printed name and title, the agency seal, the date of issuance, and agency letterhead. Where the destination country requires a translation, the translated copy is notarized and submitted with the original.
One federal rule runs the opposite direction from the state process. A federally issued document is not notarized before submission; notarizing it destroys its validity for authentication. Documents issued by a state, including Pennsylvania birth and death records and court records, are certified by that state and do not pass through the federal office at all.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a Pennsylvania apostille good for?
Pennsylvania does not place an expiration date on the certificate itself. The receiving authority abroad sets the limit, and many foreign agencies decline apostilles attached to records issued more than a few months earlier. That deadline usually attaches to the underlying document rather than to the apostille, so a freshly issued certified copy is often what a foreign office is actually asking for.
Can someone else submit the documents for me?
Yes. The Department processes requests from the document holder, a family member, an employer, an attorney, or a commercial courier service. The cover letter identifies who receives the finished documents, and the return envelope or air bill controls where they are sent. There is no requirement that the person named in the record appear in person.
What is the difference between an apostille and a notarization?
A notarization happens first and is performed by a notary public, who verifies the identity of the signer and completes the certificate required by 57 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 315. An apostille comes afterward and certifies that the notary held a valid Pennsylvania commission on the date of the act. Foreign authorities generally require both.
Do I need a separate apostille for each page of a document?
No. The charge is per document rather than per page, and the Department’s fee schedule at 4 Pa. Code § 161.1 sets $15 for certifying a record. A multi-page document that carries a single official signature and seal is authenticated once. A packet containing several separately signed records is charged for each one.
What happens if the destination country is not in the Hague Convention?
Pennsylvania now issues one universal certificate covering both convention and non-convention destinations, so the submission is the same. Non-convention countries may still require an additional step abroad: legalization through that country’s embassy or consulate in the United States after the Commonwealth’s certificate is attached. The consulate’s own website lists what it wants and what it charges.
Can a document written in another language be apostilled in Pennsylvania?
The apostille attaches to the Pennsylvania signature, not to the language of the text. A foreign-language document notarized by a Pennsylvania notary can be authenticated. Whether the destination country accepts it, and whether it wants a certified translation attached, is a question for the receiving authority or that country’s consulate.