Office of the Secretary of State, State of Wisconsin Office of the Secretary of State, State of Wisconsin State of Wisconsin - Capital Dome


Chapter 6
Authentications and Apostilles

Information

Apostilles and Authentications
  • The office of the Secretary of State provides Apostilles and authentication certificates for all Wisconsin notaries public, Use of your original commission certificate (or a copy of it) for authentication purposes is not appropriate.

Authentications
  • "Authenticating" a document may also be called "flagging", "verifying", "certifying", or "attaching a certificate of magistracy". It means that an official certificate confirming your notary commission must be attached to the document you have notarized. An authentication certificate may be required when a document is sent to another state or foreign country. Business transactions, foreign adoptions, and high school and university transcripts are a few examples of items that frequently require authentication certificates.

Apostille
  • An Apostille is a certificate issued by the Office of the Secretary of State used for notary authentication that is required by certain countries who are members of the Hague Convention. Therefore, when submitting a request to the Office of the Secretary of State for authentication certificates, it is important to state which foreign country is involved, so this Office can determine if an Apostille or "regular" authentication certificate is necessary. Use of the wrong certificate can cause a document to be rejected by the foreign country.

Fees
  • Apostilles and Authentications cost $10 per requested certificate and take between 1-5 business days to complete. However we do provide expedited services at a rate of $35 per certificate. Fees can be made to the Office of the Secretary of State in the form of check, cash or money order; no credit/debit cards, please.


Chapter 6 Quiz


1.    
An authentication is a copy of your notary commission certificate.
True
False


2.    
An Apostille is a certificate that provides authentication and is attached to a document for international use by countries that are a part of the Hague Convention.
True
False


3.    
What is the standard cost for a document to receive an authentication or Apostille certificate?
$15.00
$50.00
$10.00
$35.00