Apostilles are one of the document procedures covered in New Jersey name change, vital records, and ID documents. This article covers who issues the certificate, what condition the underlying document has to be in before it qualifies, what the request costs, and what happens when the destination country is not part of the Hague Convention.
Who issues a New Jersey apostille
The Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, inside the Department of the Treasury, is the state office that issues apostilles and certifications. Its certificate attests to the legal status of the New Jersey official who notarized or authenticated the document, New Jersey notaries public, Superior Court judges, county clerks, and the State Registrar of Vital Statistics are among the officials the Division will certify. The apostille says nothing about whether the contents of the document are true; it confirms that the signature and seal on it belong to a real, commissioned official.
The certificate itself is a single 8.5 x 11 page carrying a color laser print of the Great Seal of the State of New Jersey and the signature of the State Treasurer, and the Division staples it to the signature page of the submitted document. Removing the staple separates the apostille from the record it certifies, which defeats the purpose of the certificate.
Apostille or certification depends on the destination country
Two different certificates come out of the same office. Where the receiving country is a party to the Hague Convention abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents, the Division issues an apostille. Where the receiving country is not a party, the Division issues a certification of the public official instead, and the document usually needs further legalization by that country’s consulate.
Requirements on the receiving end vary by country and by the institution asking for the document. Officials in the destination country, that country’s consulate, and the U.S. Department of State’s authentication guidance are the sources that describe what the foreign authority will accept.
Get the underlying document into the right form first
The Division certifies an official’s signature, so the document has to carry that signature before it arrives. Three document families cover most requests.
Notarized documents. The submission has to be the original, with the original inked signature of the New Jersey notary public and the original inked signature of the person who appeared before the notary. Under N.J.S.A. 52:7-19, the notary’s certificate has to be executed at the time of the notarial act, signed and dated by the notary, identify the jurisdiction where the act was performed, state the notary’s title of office, and show the expiration date of the commission. A certificate missing any of those elements is the most common reason a package comes back.
Records of birth, marriage, and death. Certificates from January 1, 1923 forward come from the New Jersey Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry; records dated before that are held by the New Jersey State Archives, per the Division’s apostille instructions. The application for the certified copy has an apostille box, and marking it produces a certified copy signed with the original signature of the State Registrar or a deputy, the version the Treasury needs. A plain photocopy or a genealogical certification on unsealed paper cannot be apostilled. Who may order each record type is decided separately: eligibility and proof-of-relationship rules for a New Jersey death certificate are narrower than the rules for a marriage record.
Court and county records. Judgments, orders, and records certified by a Superior Court judge or a county clerk are certified by that official first, then submitted to the Division.
How to request an apostille
Obtain the original or certified document
Order the certified copy or have the document notarized before starting the apostille request. For a birth, marriage, or death certificate, note on the order form that an apostille seal is needed so the copy carries an original registrar signature rather than a facsimile.
Check whether a translation is attached
Documents in a language other than English are typically submitted with a notarized English translation. Attaching a notarized translation to a certified record turns one submission into two certified items, and the Division issues two apostilles and assesses two fees in that situation.
Place the request through the online service
The Division’s online apostille and certification service takes the document details and the statutory fee by credit card or e-check, then produces a confirmation page. The service also sets out current processing times, which move with the Division’s volume.
Send the confirmation with the documents
The printed confirmation page travels with the original documents to the Division’s Customer Service Center in Trenton, by mail or by drop-off. Documents submitted without the confirmation page are not matched to a paid request.
Check the finished certificate before sending it abroad
When the package comes back, the apostille is stapled to the signature page. Confirm that the names, dates, and document type on the certificate match the record underneath, because an error found after the document is in another country is slow to fix.
Fees and expedited handling
As of 2026, the Division charges $25.00 for each certificate, whether it is an apostille or a certification, and the fee is charged per certificate rather than per package. The same schedule sets a reduced fee of $5 per certificate where the certificates are obtained in connection with the adoption of a child.
Expedited service exists for over-the-counter transactions only, with separate one-hour and two-hour service fees per document listed on the Division’s fee schedule. Mailed requests move at standard processing speed, so the expedited fees do nothing for a package sent by post.
Federal documents and records from other states
Documents issued by a federal agency, an FBI identity history summary, an IRS letter, a document signed by a U.S. federal official, are outside the Treasury’s authority no matter where the person lives. Those go to the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications, whose document authentication instructions describe the federal process and its separate fee.
Records issued by another state follow that state’s competent authority, which is usually its secretary of state. A New Jersey notary cannot bridge the gap by notarizing a copy of an out-of-state certified record, because the Division certifies the notary’s status, not the authenticity of the record copied underneath.
Frequently asked questions
Does a New Jersey apostille expire?
The Division does not print an expiration date on the certificate. Receiving authorities abroad often set their own recency rule and ask for a document issued within a stated number of months, which is a requirement of the foreign institution rather than of New Jersey law. The consulate of the destination country states the current rule for that country.
Can an apostille be placed on a photocopy of a birth certificate?
No. The Division certifies an original signature, and a photocopy carries no original signature to certify. A certified copy ordered from the New Jersey Department of Health record-ordering page on New Jersey safety paper with the raised seal is the version that qualifies, and the apostille box on the application makes sure the copy is signed by the State Registrar personally.
How many apostilles are needed for several documents?
One certificate is issued for each document, and each certificate carries its own $25.00 fee. A person submitting a birth certificate, a marriage certificate, and a notarized power of attorney is paying three fees. Documents with an attached notarized translation count twice.
What about a diploma or a university transcript?
A school document is not signed by a public official whose signature the Treasury holds on file, so the usual route is to have a school official’s signature notarized by a New Jersey notary public. The Division then certifies the notary. Public institutions sometimes have a different path, and the registrar’s office confirms which signature it can provide.
Who issues an apostille for a document signed overseas?
The country where the notarial act took place issues it. A document notarized at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad is a federal document, so it is authenticated through the U.S. Department of State rather than through any state office.
Sources
- NJ Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services: Apostilles and Notary Certifications
- NJ Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services: Registry fee schedules
- NJ Department of Health: ordering a certified birth, marriage, or death certificate
- N.J.S.A. 52:7-19 (Certificate of notarial act)
- U.S. Department of State: Authenticate Your Document