Families Thru International Adoption

State Offices Where You Can Obtain State Seals or Apostilles

All adoption programs require that your documents have either an apostille (Russia and India) or a state seal affixed from the appropriate state office, commonly the Secretary of State's office. Listed below are the apostille/state seal government offices for each state. If you find out that we have an outdated address, telephone number, fee, etc. for a particular state, please tell us so that we can update this page accordingly.

If you send your documents to the state government office, remember to:

Call the office first to confirm the information listed below is correct.
Send your documents via Federal Express, UPS, or other overnight carrier that utilizes a tracking system.
Include a return FedEx, UPS, etc., envelope pre-addressed to you.
Include a cover letter advising from what country you are adopting. This is very important, as there is more than one type of apostille/seal and only one of them is the right one for your country.
Send the required fee (if applicable) in a money order or certified check for faster service. Never send cash.

Also, before the state government office will place an apostille or state seal on any document, it must be notarized or a certified copy of a court document. Some states, like Ohio, Kentucky, and others, require that after a document is notarized and before it is sent to the Secretary of State's office, it must be approved (certified) by your County Clerk. Please check with the state government office to learn whether this is a requirement for their particular state and to find out the specifcs for the requirement - if this is required.

Lastly, if you were born or married in a different state than where you are currently residing, then those required certificates must have the apostille or state seal from the other state(s), not your current state of residence.

A list of each state's website can be found at this Library of Congress web page.

Note: Apostilles are necessary for documents that are going to Panama and Russia. State certifications are necessary for documents that go to China and Vietnam. You can obtain both from the offices below.

A - C - D - F - G - H - I - K - L - M - N - O - P - R - S - T - U - V - W

Alabama
Alabama Secretary of State
Document Authentication Section
600 Dexter Avenue Room E-204
Montgomery, AL 36104
Phone: 334-242-7210 or 800-274-8683 (Notary Division)
334-242-7205 (General Info)
$5.00 per document
County Clerk Certification required.*

Alaska
Lt. Governor's Office
240 Main Street, Suite 300
Juneau, AK 99801
Phone: 907-465-3509 (Notary Division)
Phone: 907-465-3520 (General info)
Fax: 907-465-5400
Email: notary@gov.state.ak.us
$2.00 per document

Arizona
Office of the Secretary of State Public Services
1700 W. Washington Street Suite 103
Phoenix, AZ 85007-2808
Phone: 602-542-4086 (Notary Division)
602-542-4285 or 800-458-5842 (General Info)
Email: notary@sos.state.az.us
$3.00 per document

Arkansas
Physical office - families can walk-in documents:
Office of the Secretary of State
1401 West Capitol Avenue
Victory Building Sutie 250 - 2nd Floor
Little Rock, AR 72201-1094

Mailing Address:
Office of the Secretary of State
State Capitol
Attn: Business Services Division
Little Rock, AR 72201

Phone: 501-682-3409 (Apostilles/Seals)
$5.00 per certification
$10.00 per apostille

California
If sending documents via US Mail:
Office of the Secretary of State Notary Public Section
P. O. Box 942877
Sacramento, CA 94277-0001
If using a courier service:
Office of the Secretary of State Notary Public Section
1500 11th Street, 2nd Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-653-3595
Fax: 916-653-9580

Authentication (apostille or certification) is also available in the Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco branch offices.

$20.00 per document

Colorado
Office of Secretary of State
1700 Broadway Suite 270
Denver, CO 80290
Phone: 303-894-2680 (Licensing Division)
303-894-2200 (General Info)
Email: licensing@sos.state.co.us
$2.00 per document

Connecticut
Office of the Secretary of the State
Authentication Unit
30 Trinity Street
Hartford, CT 06106
Phone: 860-509-6135 (Document Authentication)
860-509-6000 (General Info)
Fax: 860-509-6230
$5.00 per document

Delaware
If sending documents via US Mail:
Office of the Secretary of State Division of Corporations
P.O. Box 898
Dover, DE 19903
If using a courier service:
Office of the Secretary of State Division of Corporations
John G. Townsend building
401 Federal Street Suite 4
Dover, DE 19901
Phone: 302-739-3073
Fax: 302-739-3812/3813
$20.00 per certification
$10.00 per apostille

District of Columbia
Notary Commissions and Authentications Section
Office of the Secretary
441 4th Street, NW
Room 810-S
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-727-3117 or 202-727-3118
Fax: 202-727-8457
$10.00 per document

Florida
Department of State

If using a courier service:
Division of Corporations
Attn: Apostille
2661 Executive Center, Circle West
Tallahassee, FL 32301

If sending documents via US Mail:

Division of Corporations
Attn: Apostille

PO Box 6800

Tallahassee, FL 32314-6800
Phone: 850-245-6945
$10.00 per state certification
$20.00 per Apostille

Georgia
For those adopting from Panama and Russia (requiring Apostilles)*:
Georgia Superior Court
Clerk's Cooperative Authority Notary Division
1875 Century Blvd, Suite 100
Atlanta, GA 30345
Phone: 404-327-6023
$3.00 per Apostille
County Clerk Certification NOT required.*

For those adopting from China, and Vietnam (requiring State Seals)**:
Georgia Secretary of State
Elections Division
2 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
Suite 1104, West Tower
Atlanta, GA 30334
Phone: 404-656-2871
$10.00 per State Seal
County Clerk Certification required.**

Hawaii
Office of the Lt. Governor
State Capitol - 5th Floor
P. O. Box 3226
Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone: 808-586-0255
$1.00 per document

Idaho
If sending via U.S. Mail:
Office of the Secretary of State
Notary Department
P. O. Box 83720
Boise, ID 83720-0080
Attn: Debbie Farnsworth
If using a courier service:
Office of the Secretary of State Notary Department
700 W. Jefferson, Room 203
Boise, ID 83702
Attn: Debbie Farnsworth
Phone: 208-332-2810 (Notary Dept)
208-334-2300 (General Info)
$10.00 per document

Illinois
(scroll down to "Notary Public Division")
Springfield Office:
Office of the Secretary of State
Index Department - Public Document Division
111 East Monroe
Springfield, IL 62756
Phone: 217-782-7017
$2.00 per document

Chicago Office: Walk-In Service Only
Office of the Secretary of State
Index Department
17 North State Street Room 1030
Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: 312-793-2556
$2.00 per document

Indiana
Office of the Secretary of State
Government Center South Building
302 W. Washington Street Room E018
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Attention: Apostilles/Authentications

Check the names of your notaries against official Secretary of State records at the Indiana Secretary of State Website.

Phone: 317-232-2677
No charge

Iowa
Office of the Secretary of State
Lucas Building, 1st Floor
321 E. 12th Street
Des Moines, IA 50319
Phone: 515-281-5204 (Apostille)
515-281-8993 (General Info)
$5.00 per document

Kansas
Kansas Secretary of State
Memorial Hall - 1st Floor
120 SW 10th Ave.
Topeka, KS 66612
Attention: Georgia
Phone: 785-296-2239
$7.50 per document

Kentucky
Office of the Secretary of State
700 Capitol Avenue, Suite 156, Capitol Building
Frankfort, KY 40601
Phone: 502-564-7330
$5.00 per document
County Clerk Certification required.*

Louisiana
Office of the Secretary of State
Commissions Division
8549 United Plaza Boulevard
Baton Rouge, LA 70809

Apostilles/seals can also be obtained at the New Orleans satellite office.

Phone: 225-922-0330
$10.00 per document

Maine
Department of the Secretary
Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions
101 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0101
Phone: 207-624-7650
$10.00 per document

Maryland
Office of the Secretary of State
State House
16 Francis Street
Annapolis, MD 21401
Attention: Regina Jewett
Phone: 410-974-5521
Please Note: A Cover Letter is required!
$5.00 per document
County Clerk Certification required.*

Massachusetts
Division of Public Record
One Ashburton Place, Room 1719
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: 617-727-2832
$6.00 per document. Checks made payable to "Common Wealth of Massachusetts."

Michigan
Michigan Department of State
Office of the Great Seal
7064 Crowner Blvd.
Lansing, MI 48918-1750
Phone: 517-373-2531
$1.00 per document

Walk-in, same-day service is limited to 4 (four) documents per request (per adoption, per dossier, per family, per group, etc.) each day. That is, another family member or friend cannot bring in additional document for the same purpose. Appointments are required for 5 (five) documents or more, and require 3 (three) days processing time (not including weekends or holidays).
Please note if you are utilizing a courier (FedEx, UPS, etc.) that adopting parent's name should be listed as sender on return courier envelopes enclosed to return the documents to adopting parents - not "The office of the Great Seal." On sending documents for the seal, adopting parents are also marked as sender.

Document authentication is available on a walk-in basis at the following locations:

Minnesota
Office of the Secretary of State
Certification Section
180 State Office Building
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: 651-296-2803
$5.00 per document

Mississippi
If sending the documents via U.S. Mail:
Office of the Secretary of State Notary Division
P. O. Box 136
Jackson, MS 39205-0136
If using a courier service:
Office of the Secretary of State Notary Division
301 N. President Street
Jackson, MS 39201
Phone: 601-359-1615 or 800-256-3494 (Notary Division)
601-359-1350 (General Info)
$2.00 per document

Missouri
Document Certification Services
Office of the Secretary of State
Attn: Commissions Office
600 W. Main Room 322
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Phone: 573-751-2783 (Commission Division)
$10.00 per document

Missouri Legislature passed SCS SB 1258 - This act limits the state's allowable fee for processing certain adoption documents to $100 per child per adoption, or per multiple children adopted at the same time. This bill went into effect on August 28, 2002.

Montana
Office of the Secretary of State
Notary Department
1236 Sixth Avenue
Helena, MT 59620
Phone: 406-444-1877 or 406-444-5379
$10.00 per document

Nebraska
Nebraska Secretary of State
Notary Division
State Capitol Bldg., Rm. 1301
1445 K Street
Lincoln, NE 68508
Phone: 402-471-2558 (Notary Division)
402-471-2554 (General Info)
$10.00 per document
Nebraska Adoption Documentation Advisory

Nevada
Office of the Secretary of State
101 N. Carson St., Suite 3
Carson City, NV 89701-4786
Phone: 775-684-5708
$20.00 per document

New Hampshire
Office of the Secretary of State
Notary Division
State House, Room 204
107 N. Main St.
Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603-271-3242 or 603-271-3243
$10.00 per document

For expedited service (available only if sent by a courier service such as Fed Ex; DHL etc) cost is $20 per document ($5 filing fee + $15 expedited service fee per document)

send to:

New Jersey Secretary of State

ATTEN: Division of Revenue

225 West State Rd.

3rd Floor

Trenton, NJ 08608

For Regular Mail service cost is $5 per document. Regular processing time is 30 days up to 3 weeks

send to:

New Jersey Secretary of State

Department of Treasury

ATTEN: Notary Division

P.O. Box 452

Trenton, NJ 08625-0452

New Mexico
Office of the Secretary of State
Operations Division
325 Don Gaspar - Suite 300
Santa Fe, NM 87503
Phone: 800-477-3632
$3.00 per document

New York (except NYC)
Department of State
Miscellaneous/State Records Bureau
One Commerce Plaza
99 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12231
Phone: 518-474-8642
$10.00 per document
County Clerk Certification required.*

New York City
Department of State
Certification Unit
123 William Street - 19th Floor
New York, NY 10038
Phone: 212-417-5684
$10.00 per document
County Clerk Certification required.*

North Carolina
Office of the Secretary of State
If using a courier service:

Authentication Section
2 South Salisbury Street
Raleigh, NC 27601-2903

If sending the documents via U.S. Mail:

PO Box 29622

Raleigh, NC 27626-0622
Phone: 919-807-2140
$10.00 per document

North Dakota
Office of the Secretary of State
Administrative/Licensing Division
600 E. Boulevard Ave.
Bismarck, ND 58505-0500
Phone: 701-328-3665 or 800-352-0867 ext. 8-3665
Email: sosadlic@state.nd.us
$10.00 per document

Ohio
Documents being mailed should be sent to:
Ohio Secretary of State
Records and Client Services
180 East Broad Street Suite 103
Columbus, OH 43215

Documents being delivered should be sent to:
Ohio Secretary of State
Records and Client Services
Continental Plaza
180 East Broad Street (Suite 103
Columbus, OH 43215

Phone: 614-728-9200
Toll Free: 877-767-6446

$5.00 per document
County Clerk Certification required.*
**Ohio Secretary of State only uses FedEx or US mail as their couriers**

Oklahoma
Office of the Secretary of State
Certification Department
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd, Room 101
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-4897
Phone: 405-521-4211
$20.00 per certification
$25.00 per apostille

Oregon
Office of the Secretary of State
Notary Public Section
255 Capitol St. NE, Suite 151
Salem, OR 97310-1327
Phone: 503-986-2593
$10.00 per certification
Email: oregon.notary@state.or.us

Pennsylvania
Department of State
Office of the Secretary of Commonwealth
210 North Office Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Phone: 717-787-5280
Email: RA-BCEL@state.pa.us
$15.00 per document

Regular processing time is 10-15 days. Expedited service is only available for walk-ins.

Puerto Rico
Departmento de Estado de Puerto Rico
Div. de Certificaciones
P.O. Box 902 3271
San Juan, PR 00902-3271
Phone: 787-723-4343
Charge $3.00 per document. Documents should not be older than 6 months at the time submitted for apostilles.

Rhode Island
Office of the Secretary of State
Notary Division
State House/ Room 218
100 N. Main St.
Providence, RI 02903
Phone: 401-222-1487 (Notary Division)
401-222-2357 (General Info)
Email: notaries@sec.stat.ri.us
$5.00 per document

South Carolina
Office of the Secretary of State Notary Department
Capital Complex
Edgar Brown Building
1205 Pendleton Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Phone: 803-734-2119 or 803-734-2512 (Notary Department)
803-734-2170 (General Info)
$2.00 per document

South Dakota
Office of the Secretary of State
Capitol Building - Suite 204
500 E. Capitol Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501-5070
Phone: 605-773-3539
$5.00 per document

Tennessee
Office of the Secretary of State
Division of Business Services
6th Floor, William Snodgrass Tower
312 Eighth Ave. North
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: 615-741-3699
$2.00 per document (additional $10.00 fee if using a credit card)
County Clerk Certification required.*

Texas
Texas Secretary of State
1019 Brazos Street B-13
Austin, TX 78701
or
PO Box 13375
Austin, TX 78701
ATTN: Elections Division (for birth certificates, marriage certificates)
ATTN: Notary Public Unit (for notarized documents)

Please Note: You are required to include/attach the original notarized document with the official request form and accompanying fee. Click here to obtain the Request Form.

Phone: 512-463-5705
$10.00 per adoption-related document with $100 maximum per child

Utah
Utah Lt. Governor
Authentication Office
Utah State Capitol Complex
Suite 220
PO Box 142325
Salt Lake City, UT 84114
Phone: 801-538-1041
Email: authentications@utah.gov
$10.00 per Apostille
$10.00 per International Notary Certification
$10.00 per International Public Document Certification

Vermont
Office of the Secretary of State
Redstone Building 26 Terrace Street, Drawer 09
Montpelier, VT 05609-1101
Phone: 802-828-2363
$2.00 per document

Virginia
Betsy Anderson
Director of Authentications
Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth
1111 East Broad Street, 4th Floor
Richmond, Virginia 23219
(804) 786-2441
$10.00 per document

Washington
Corporations Division
Apostille and Certificate Program
801 Capitol Way South
PO Box 40228
Olympia WA 98504-0228
Phone: 360-586-2268 or 360-586-7524
$15.00 per document

West Virginia
Office of the Secretary of State
Notary Clerk
1900 Kanawha Blvd. East Suite 157K
Charleston, WV 25305-0770
Phone: 304-558-6000
$10.00 per document

Wisconsin
View Wisconsin's Authentication and Apostille Processing Policy and access their Certificate Request Form.
Secretary of State - Certification Desk
30 West Mifflin, 10th Floor
Madison, WI 53702
Phone: 608-266-5503
$10.00 per document

Wyoming
Office of the Secretary of State
State Capitol Building
200 West 24th Street
Cheyenne, WY 82002-0020
Phone: 307-777-5860
$3.00 per document

* Please check with your state government office for details!

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Families Thru International Adoption, Inc.
400 Bentee Wes Court
Evansville, IN 47715
Telephone: 812-479-9900 Toll Free: 888-797-9900
FAX: 812-479-9901
email: adopt@ftia.org

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