September 12, 2023: Certificates and Notifications issued by our office will look slightly different starting in October.

  • ALL certificates and notifications issued by our office can be viewed in the business’s filing history.
  • Verify the authenticity of notifications from our office by reviewing the business’s filing history in our Corporations and Charities Filing System (CCFS).

 

Apostille Document Guidelines

  1. OSOS Home
  2. Corporations & Charities
  3. Apostilles Program
  4. Apostille Document Guidelines

Washington Schools K-12:

  • Transcripts must be signed by Principal or Vice Principal. This needs to be a special request, the Principal typically does not sign transcripts.
  • Original Diplomas are signed by the Principal or Assistant Principal. As an option, a copy of the original Diploma can be notarized by a Washington State Notary Public.
  • Both must have the School Seal

Washington State College/University:

  • Transcripts must be signed by Registrar, Associate Registrar, or Interim Registrar
  • Original Degrees are signed by the President. As an option, a copy of the original Degree can be notarized by a Washington State Notary Public.
  • Both must have the School Seal

Washington State Center for Vital Statistics:

  • Birth, Marriage, Death, Divorce Decree, and Single Status Certificates. If you call 360-236-4313 let them know what documents you need and what country you are dealing with. If ordering by phone with a credit card you can pay for both the record, and the Apostille or Certificate of Authentication, they will also have options on how to receive your documents.
  • Certified by State Registrar, Health Officer
  • These documents do not need to be notarized

Washington County Health Departments:

  • County Health Departments provide birth and death certificates.
  • They are certified by the Health Officer, Directors of Health Districts
  • These documents do not need to be notarized

Washington State and County Officials:

  • Certified copies signed by State Officials or their authorized representatives
  • Certified copies signed by County Officials or their authorized representatives

Federal Documents:

  • Our office does not notarize or authenticate Federal Documents
  • Our office does not notarize or authenticate Certificates of Naturalization
  • Military Notaries must be processed in Washington D.C. at the US Department of State.
  • Our office does not notarize or authenticate Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Clearances

Please Note: This is not a complete list of documents that can be Apostille or Authenticated. See Frequently Asked Questions for additional information.

Disclaimer

Certificates are not valid for use anywhere within the United States of America, its territories or possessions.