No, a notary public cannot issue an apostille or an authentication certificate. That power belongs to designated government authorities: a state’s secretary of state for state-issued documents, and the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications for federal ones. What a notary can do, and often must do, is provide the underlying notarization that makes a document eligible for an apostille in the first place.
The distinction matters because people frequently walk into a notary’s office expecting to leave with a fully authenticated document ready for use abroad. That’s not how the process works, and understanding where the notary’s role ends and the government’s begins prevents wasted trips, rejected applications, and missed deadlines.
What a Notary Public Is Authorized to Do
A notary public is commissioned by a state government to serve as an impartial witness during the signing of documents. The notary verifies the signer’s identity, confirms the person is signing voluntarily, and may administer an oath or affirmation when a document requires a sworn statement. The notary’s seal and signature confirm that the signature on the document is genuine and that the signer appeared in person. The notary does not verify the accuracy or legality of the document’s contents, and the notary has no authority to certify a document for international use.
Two types of notarial acts commonly appear on documents heading abroad. An acknowledgment is used when a signer declares they signed willingly. A jurat, sometimes called a “verification upon oath or affirmation,” requires the signer to swear or affirm the truthfulness of the contents and to sign in the notary’s presence. Foreign authorities or receiving institutions sometimes specify which type they need, and using the wrong one causes delays down the line.
None of these acts, by themselves, make a document usable in another country. They create the foundation the state or federal authority builds on when it issues the apostille or authentication.
Who Actually Issues an Apostille
An apostille is a government-issued certificate that authenticates documents for use in countries that belong to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, which currently has over 120 contracting states.1Hague Conference on Private International Law. HCCH Convention of 5 October 1961 – Full Text When properly completed, it certifies the authenticity of the signature on the document, the capacity in which the signer acted, and the identity of any seal or stamp the document bears. The apostille does not vouch for the content of the document itself.
Which authority issues the apostille depends on where the document originated:
- State-issued documents (birth certificates, marriage certificates, court orders, diplomas, and documents notarized within a state) get their apostille from that state’s secretary of state. A birth certificate from Ohio needs an Ohio apostille, not a federal one.2USA.gov. Authenticate an Official Document for Use Outside the U.S.
- Federal documents (such as FBI background checks, patent records, and documents signed by U.S. consular officers) go to the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications.3U.S. Department of State. Preparing a Document for an Apostille Certificate
No notary, in any state, is authorized to affix an apostille or issue anything equivalent to one. The certificate has to come from the government office that verifies the notary’s own commission.
Who Issues an Authentication Certificate
When the destination country is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, an apostille won’t be recognized. The document instead needs an authentication certificate, sometimes called legalization, which passes through several layers of government before the destination country will accept it.2USA.gov. Authenticate an Official Document for Use Outside the U.S.
The typical chain for a state-issued document runs from notarization, to certification by the state’s secretary of state, to certification by the U.S. Department of State, and finally to legalization by the embassy or consulate of the destination country. Each authority verifies the one before it. A notary sits at the very start of that chain, never at the end.
Where Notarization Fits, and Where It Doesn’t
For many documents heading abroad, notarization is the foundation the whole authentication chain rests on. A power of attorney, affidavit, or contract typically has to be notarized before a state secretary of state can issue an apostille or authentication certificate. The secretary of state’s office verifies that the notary holds a valid commission, and then attaches the apostille or certification.2USA.gov. Authenticate an Official Document for Use Outside the U.S. The Hague Convention explicitly lists notarial acts as one of the categories of public documents covered by the apostille system.1Hague Conference on Private International Law. HCCH Convention of 5 October 1961 – Full Text
Vital records work differently. A birth or marriage certificate generally needs to be a certified copy from the issuing agency rather than a notarized version. The state has already put its official seal on it, so no notary is involved.
Federal documents are where people get tripped up. The U.S. Department of State is blunt about it: do not notarize a federal document before submitting it for an apostille. Adding a notarization to a federal document actually invalidates it for apostille purposes.3U.S. Department of State. Preparing a Document for an Apostille Certificate An FBI background check headed abroad, for example, should go directly to the State Department with legible signatures, printed names, titles, and agency seals on official letterhead. A well-meaning trip to a notary can send the whole application back.
Notary Errors That Sink an Apostille Application
When a notary’s involvement is required, the notarization step is where most apostille applications fall apart. If the secretary of state’s office cannot verify the notary’s commission or finds problems with the notarial certificate, the application gets returned.
Common problems include:
- A missing notary signature.
- An expired stamp or commission on the notarization date, which makes the notarial act invalid and leaves the secretary of state with nothing legitimate to certify.
- Certificate wording that uses the wrong act, such as an acknowledgment where a jurat was needed.
- Missing information on the notarial certificate, including the notary’s printed name, commission expiration date, the county and state where the notarization took place, the date, the type of act, or a clear impression of the official seal.
Check for all of these before leaving the notary. Once the document reaches the secretary of state, any of them is enough to trigger a rejection, and you’ll be starting the notarization over.
How to Tell Whether You Need an Apostille or Authentication
The deciding factor is the destination country. If it is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, you need an apostille. If not, you need the longer authentication and embassy legalization process.2USA.gov. Authenticate an Official Document for Use Outside the U.S. The Hague Conference on Private International Law maintains an official status table of all contracting states.4Hague Conference on Private International Law. HCCH Apostille Convention – Status Table
Then identify whether the document is state-issued or federal, because that determines which government office issues the certificate. State-issued documents go to the state’s secretary of state. Federal documents go to the U.S. Department of State. In either case, the notary’s role, if any, ends before the apostille or authentication is ever issued.
When in doubt, contact the embassy or consulate of the destination country directly. Requirements can differ depending on when a document was issued or what type it is, and the embassy can also tell you whether a translation is needed and whether that translation itself needs its own apostille or authentication.