Tips to Prepare for a Traveling Notary
If you’re moving abroad or taking a trip to another country to see a family member living abroad, for work, school, an international adoption, or a wedding, you may need an apostille.
Most people don’t know what an apostille is until they require one. The process for obtaining an Apostille seems as simple as mailing a document to the Secretary of State’s office in Boise, Idaho or another state and paying a fee.
But documents that go through the apostille process must meet a very specific set of criteria that changes depending upon the country that the document is going to and what it contains. If you need an apostille in Idaho, keep reading to find out how Idaho Notary Signing Agent can help you get your documents through the apostille process and ready to use in the country they are needed for.
What is an Apostille?
An apostille is a type of certificate that is attached to a document. It includes a seal and the seal varies from state to state The certificate certifies that:
- The signature of the public official who signed it is authentic
- What capacity they acted in (ex. Notary Public, Secretary of State, Deputy Clerk)
- The identity of the seal or stamp on the document (Such as the stamp of a Notary Public)
Common Documents Submitted for Apostille
Other countries ask for all types of apostille documents. They include but are not limited to:
- Birth certificates
- Marriage certificates
- Divorce decrees
- Death certificates
- Business licenses and related documents
- Diplomas
- School transcripts
- Adoption Records
What if I Want to Send in an Apostille Request Myself?
Anyone is free to send a document through the apostille process for the Idaho Secretary of State. All that is required is to pay the fee to the Secretary of State and submit the document by mail or in person.
However, you must make sure that the document has to go to the Secretary of State’s office. It must also meet all the requirements for authentication, and you must know if it needs to go to the United States Secretary of State’s Office or a US Embassy. It could need a Federal apostille or additional authentication. If one thing is missing from your document, it will be rejected by the Secretary of State’s Office or the country the document is going to.
You must also determine if the country is part of the Hague Convention for apostilles. If it is not, then it must go through additional steps for apostille.
Why Was My Apostille Request Rejected?
If you’re searching for notary and apostille services in Idaho because your document was rejected by the Secretary of State or the country you sent it to, it could be because the document was:
- Sent to the wrong Secretary of State’s office
- Not signed by the appropriate person
- Missing a signature
- Not notarized or not notarized properly (if required)
- A federal document that needed to be sent to the US Secretary of State
- Lacking embassy authentication
- Did not have all of the information required
- The wrong fees were sent with the document or not at all.
How Will Idaho Notary Apostille Services Help Me?
When you hire Idaho Notary Signing Agent, we help our customers review their documents to make sure that they:
- Do not have any blank spaces.
- Have signatures (if required)
- Are not missing a notarization or the notarization is incomplete
- Are being sent with the correct fees at the state, federal, or embassy level
- Meet any other requirements for apostille at the state or federal level before being sent off.
Idaho Notary Signing Agent will also send or deliver documents to the correct Secretary of State or Embassy and make sure they get back to the customer. Our goal is to take the hassle and stress of the apostille process and allow our customers to focus on the other aspects of their overseas transaction that require their attention.
What is Included in Idaho Notary Signing Agent Apostille Services?
While no one apostille request is the same, the apostille services always includes the following for each individual document:
- The fee for the Idaho Secretary of State or that of another state
- Delivery to the Secretary of State and return shipping or delivery from the SOS to the customer
- Document review
- Fees charged in addition to may include:
- Notarizations
- Embassy fees
- Authentication of documents fee (US Secretary of State and Embassy)
- Expedited service fees
How Fast Can I Get My Apostille Back?
If a document is going to the Idaho Secretary of State, customers can expect their documents back within a few days if everything is in order on the document. Currently, the Secretary of State’s office is accepting apostille requests by appointment only.
The turnaround time for documents going to another state SOS or the US Secretary of State will vary depending upon their processing times.
Idaho Notary Signing Agent will include the expected delivery date when providing a quote for our services.
What Information Do You Need for an Apostille?
Idaho Notary Signing Agent needs to know the following information to provide you with an accurate quote:
- What kind of document needs to be apostilled?
- What country the document is going to be used in?
- Which state did the document originate in?
- Does the document need to be notarized? If it has been already, where was it notarized?
- When do you need the document back by?
I Need a Document to Be Apostilled. But I Can’t Answer All of These Questions. Can You Help Me?
Idaho Notary Signing Agent cannot offer advice to our customers. However, we can offer recommendations to help you find out all the information you need to know to get a document apostilled.
Ready to take the hassle out of getting an apostille in or around Boise, Idaho? Call Idaho Notary Signing Agent at (208) 258-0285 today to find out how we can help!
