What is an apostille?

The Hague Convention defines the purpose of an apostille as to "abolish the requirement of diplomatic or consular legalisation for foreign public documents."

Here is a listing of countries that follow the Hague Legalization Convention.

An apostille:

• certifies the authenticity of the issuing official's or notary public's signature on the document,
• the capacity in which the person has acted, and
• identifies the seal/stamp which the document bears.

• those originating in a court, clerk of a court, public prosecutor or process server,
• administrative documents,
• notarial acts,
• official certificates placed on documents

A few examples of these public documents would include:

• birth or death certificates
• marriage licenses
• divorce decrees
• school transcripts
• school diplomas or degrees

It is important to note that the Idaho Secretary of State can authenticate only documents issued by Idaho officials or notarized by Idaho Notaries.

A request for an apostille (or authentication) may be made in person or by mail. Requests are processed by the Notary Division of the Secretary of State's office. The mailing address for requests is:

Secretary of State's Office
Attn: Notary Department
PO Box 83720
Boise ID 83720-0080

For requests sent to us by overnight mail, the street address is:

450 N 4th Street
Boise ID 83702

Walk-In Service is available, however, you may need to leave your documents and return at a later time to pick them up.

If paying with cash, please do not bring large denomination bills. We keep a limited amount of cash on hand to make change.

Our office hours are Monday through Friday, (excluding state holidays), 8 am to 5 pm.

If you are mailing in your document(s) and you are on a deadline, be sure to allow for mailing AND processing time.

Requests are processed daily. Your document(s) and apostille (or authentication) will be returned to you (or forwarded to any location you request) by first class mail.

If overnight service is required a pre-addressed, pre-paid airbill must be enclosed with the request.

• your document(s) that you wish to have an apostille (or authentication) attached to  (The document must be a certified copy or an original notarized document, notarized by an Idaho Notary Public.)
• a statutory fee of $10.00 per apostille (or authentication) being requested (checks and money orders should be made payable to "Secretary of State")
• provide the name of the country to which the documents will be sent (this insures that we provide you with the appropriate certification format for the receiving country)

Requests are processed daily. Your document(s) and apostille (or authentication) will be returned to you (or forwarded to any location you request) by first class mail. If overnight service is required a pre-addressed, pre-paid airbill must be enclosed with the request.