Louisiana Apostille Service

The Louisiana Secretary of State, through its Commissions Division in Baton Rouge. It is the only office in the state that can certify a document for foreign use, whether as an apostille or an authentication.

It is the state’s certificate that a Louisiana official’s signature and seal are authentic. You need one whenever a Louisiana document — a vital record, a court or business filing, a diploma, or a notarized paper — has to be recognized by a Hague Convention country.

Prepare the document according to state requirements, identify the destination country, include the required payment, and submit it to the Secretary of State by mail or in person. Certified vital and court records do not require notarization, while eligible private documents must be properly notarized by a Louisiana notary.

A Hague Convention country requires an apostille; a country outside the Convention requires a certificate of authentication, which may need further certification by the U.S. Department of State and legalization through the destination’s embassy or consulate.

Eligible documents include certified vital records, parish and court records, business and corporate filings, diplomas and transcripts prepared according to state requirements, and private papers properly notarized in the state.

Order a certified copy bearing the current registrar’s signature from Louisiana Vital Records, then submit it to the Secretary of State.

Yes. The notarial certificate must show the notary’s printed name and identification number beneath the signature. Separate certification by the parish Clerk of Court is generally not required.

Not a plain photocopy of a vital or court record. These documents must be certified copies from the issuing office. Private documents must be properly notarized and carry the required original signatures.

The Louisiana apostille processing time at the state level is short — about three business days for a mailed request after receipt, or the same day at the Baton Rouge counter, excluding shipping time.

Yes. We review and prepare your documents, route them to the appropriate state, federal, or embassy authority, and return the completed records.

Not through the Louisiana Secretary of State. An FBI background check is a federal document, so its apostille comes from the U.S. Department of State. A Louisiana criminal background check apostille for an eligible report issued by the Louisiana State Police follows a separate state process through the Secretary of State.

Yes. We provide an FBI apostille service for Louisiana residents, managing the federal process from submission through the return of the completed document.