Apostille › Documents
Marriage certificate apostille
Your marriage certificate is apostilled by the state where the marriage was recorded, and county-issued copies often need an extra certification step first.
Verified 2026-08-04
Marriage records are usually held at county level and apostilled at state level, which creates a step people miss. Many states will not apostille a county clerk’s copy directly — the county clerk’s signature has to be certified first, and only then can the Secretary of State attach the apostille.
Florida makes this explicit
Where a Florida Clerk of the Court certified the document, Florida charges $20 rather than $10, because the request needs a $10 certificate of incumbency alongside the $10 apostille. Other states handle the same problem differently, and some absorb it silently.
What to ask for
When you order the copy, say plainly that it is for an apostille going abroad. County offices deal with this often and will usually issue the right version, with the right signature, first time. Ordering a plain copy and discovering the problem at the Secretary of State costs a round trip.
Married abroad?
If the marriage was recorded outside the United States, no U.S. state can apostille it. That document has to be authenticated by the country that recorded it.
Fees in the states we have checked
| State | Fee per document | Counter service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $20 per apostille | About 30 minutes, Sacramento and Los Angeles. Arrive by 4:30pm. A $6 special handling fee applies in person. | Details → |
| Texas | $15 per document, not per page. Adoption apostilles are $10 per document, capped at $100 per adoption. | Appointments Tuesday to Thursday, walk-ins Monday to Friday. One appointment per person or company per day, and a maximum of ten documents per visit. More than ten can be dropped off and are processed within 72 hours. | Details → |
| Florida | $10 per document. $20 where a Florida Clerk of the Court certified it, because that needs a $10 certificate of incumbency alongside the $10 apostille. | Walk-ins are usually handled while you wait. There is no expedited service of any kind, and requests are worked in the order received. | Details → |
| New York | $10 per document. | Same-day counter service in New York City, Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo and Utica, capped at ten documents per customer. | Details → |
| Pennsylvania | $15 per document, not per page. | Counter service 8:00 to 4:30, arrive by 4:00. Walk-in requests are processed while you wait. The drop box at 400 North Street is stated as 5 to 7 business days plus mail time. | Details → |
Each figure comes from that state’s own page and carries the date we checked it. States we have not verified are deliberately not listed.
Doing a residency application?
Most applications need an FBI background check alongside this document. That one is federal and goes to Washington. We handle it end to end, and can take the state documents in the same order so there is one deadline instead of several.
Questions
See also federal or state routing.
Which state apostilles my marriage certificate?
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