China
Russia
Vietnam
(This page does not apply for any Guatemala or Vietnam adoptions.)
The information here is only necessary if you are adopting from China or because of where you live you are required to send your documents to the Embassy instead of a Consulate. The Embassy is like the headquarters for foreign governments in the United States, and Consulates are like branch offices. Whether your documents must go to the Embassy or a Consulate depends on where you live. By the time you get to this step, you should already know whether your documents need to be sent to an Embassy or a Consulate. For whatever reason, documents that are sent to Consulates for certification (or authentication) do not need any seal after a receiving a state's seal or apostille. But for documents sent to an Embassy, you must first obtain a seal from the United States Department of State after obtaining the state's seal or apostille and prior to sending them to the Embassy for certification (authentication). Below is the information to send documents to the U.S. Department of State for authentication. Please call first to make sure all the information on this page is still current and accurate.
Documents received by mail take approximately one week from receipt to be returned. The name of the country of intended use and a daytime telephone number should be included in the request for authentication. The mailing address is:
The Authentications Office will mail documents directly to the foreign embassy or consulate in the United States if provided with a transmittal letter and a pre-addressed, stamped envelope to the Embassy/Consulate for the U.S. Department of State, the fee for the Embassy/Consulate, and a pre-addressed, stamped envelope for the return of the documents.
Open 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. only
Telephone: 202-647-5002 and 800-688-9889 (Option #6)
Each customer is limited to 15 documents to have processed per day on a
while-you-wait basis. Two lines are available.
Use Blue or Orange Metro rail to GWU-Foggy Bottom stop. Exit Metro on 23rd Street and turn right. Walk down 3 blocks, cross Virginia Avenue, N.W., walk down to Columbia Plaza on right. Go through courtyard. 518 is at left corner of courtyard area.
Effective January 1, 2008 the authentication fee per document increased to $8.00. A check or money order made payable to the "U.S. Department of State" should be submitted with the document. A personal or company check, MasterCard, and Visa are accepted.
