Nearly every expensive mistake in this process traces back to this one question, and the rule that answers it is short: the authority that issued the document is the authority that authenticates it.

Federal, goes to Washington

• FBI Identity History Summary, the background check
• Certificate of naturalisation or citizenship
• Federal court records
• IRS and Treasury documents
• DD-214 military discharge papers
• Social Security Administration letters

State, goes to that state

• Birth and death certificates
• Marriage certificates and divorce decrees
• State court records
• Diplomas and transcripts, usually notarised first
• Anything signed in front of a notary in that state

The trap

A state cannot apostille a federal document even if it wanted to, and it will not forward it on your behalf. The envelope comes back unprocessed, and by the time it does most people have lost about a month. The reverse is also true: Washington cannot apostille your birth certificate.

A second, quieter trap is that a document issued by one state cannot be apostilled by another. A Texas birth certificate goes to Texas, wherever you happen to live now.

Source: U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications. Checked 2026-08-04. We re-check this page weekly and update the date when anything changes.