Apostille in New York

The New York Secretary of State apostilles documents that New York issued. It cannot apostille a federal document, and that distinction is where most people lose a month.

Verified 2026-08-04

Fee	$10 per document.
In person	Same-day counter service in New York City, Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo and Utica, capped at ten documents per customer.
By mail	New York does not publish a mail turnaround. Returns go by first class mail unless you enclose a prepaid express envelope.
Mail to	New York Department of State, Division of Licensing Services, Apostille and Authentication Unit, P.O. Box 22001, Albany, NY 12201-2001
Courier / in person	1 Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Avenue, 6th Floor, Albany, NY 12231
Payment	Check or money order drawn on a U.S. bank, or credit card. A CVV is now required on all card payments; without it the payment is rejected and your documents are returned.
Limit	Ten documents per customer at the counter.

Source: New York Secretary of State. Checked 2026-08-04. Fees and backlogs change, so confirm before you send anything.

New York cannot apostille an FBI background check. That is a federal document and goes to the U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications in Washington instead. If you have already sent one to New York, it will come back unprocessed. How to recover →

What New York can apostille

✓Birth and death certificates issued by New York
✓Marriage certificates recorded in New York
✓New York court records
✓Documents notarised by a New York notary

What it cannot

×FBI background checks
×Naturalisation and citizenship certificates
×Federal court records and IRS documents
×Documents issued by any other state

Need the federal one instead?

If your document is an FBI background check, we handle the whole chain including the trip to Washington. About three weeks, $299 all in.

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