Apostille is a French word that means certification.  When legal or official documents which were issued in the state of Illinois are to be used in a foreign country, it may sometimes be necessary to authenticate the validity of the signatures on those Illinois documents.  "Authentication" is sometimes called "Verification", "Validation" or "Certification".  "Authentication" is also sometimes called an official "Stamp" or an official "Seal".

Government agencies in most countries require legal and official documents from a different country to be authenticated by a credible agency in the foreign country before they will accept any documents as valid.  An Illinois Apostille is a document issued by the Illinois Secretary of State which is used for international validation.

• An Illinois Apostille is like an international notary stamp.
• An Illinois Apostille attached to a document legally verifies the signature and the position of the official who has executed, issued or certified a copy of any document.
• An Illinois Apostille is a document which bears the signature and, usually, the seal of an official state agency, usually the Secretary of State.
• An Illinois Apostille is attached (usually stapled) to a legal or official document.

An Illinois Apostille does not validate the contents of the document.  An Illinois Apostille validates only the authenticity of the signature of the official who signed the Illinois document, the capacity in which that official acted, and when appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which the document bears.  This is usually an Illinois Notary Public; an Illinois Elected Official; or an Illinois Appointed Official.

Most, but not all, countries recognize an Apostille as a legal document.   In 1961 a number of countries got together and agreed to some conventions for conducting international business.  Representatives of the countries met in The Hague, Netherlands, and the agreements that were signed became known as the Hague Convention of 1961.

Part of the Hague Convention has to do with easing the process of using valid documents from one country in another country.  Prior to 1981 the process of validating foreign documents could be cumbersome, expensive and slow. 

Countries that signed the Hague Convention have agreed to recognize valid documents issued by other signatory countries if those documents are authenticated by the attachment of an internationally recognized form of authentication known as an Apostille. 

The Illinois Apostille ensures that documents issued in Illinois will be recognized as valid in another signatory country.

In addition to the United States, the following countries have signed the Hague Convention and will accept a document with an Illinois Apostille attached.  For countries not listed the Illinois Secretary of State will issue a Certificate of Authority which can be affixed to an official or legal Illinois document in the same way in which an Illinois Apostille is affixed to a Illinois document.

If a country does not legally recognize an Apostille for an Illinois document then that country probably will accept a Illinois issued by the Illinois Secretary of State.  The Illinois Secretary of State will issue a Illinois in lieu of an Apostille.  In the state of Illinois, the Apostille and Illinois administrative processes are virtually the same.

No.  The Illinois Secretary of State will not notarize any documents.  Illinois documents which were not issued by an Illinois state agency must be notarized by a registered Illinois Notary Public or certified by the Vital Records department in the Illinois city or county in which the documents were issued.

No.  The Illinois Secretary of State will not issue an Apostille for a document which was originally issued in a state other than Illinois.  The Illinois Secretary of State will issue an Apostille only for documents which were issued or originated in the state of Illinois.

No.  The Illinois Secretary of State will not issue an Apostille for a Illinois document which is in a foreign language other than English.  The Illinois document must be accompanied by a notarized English version of the Illinois document.

No.  The Illinois Secretary of State will not issue an Apostille for a federal US document.  Federal documents which have been issued by an agency of the US government are authenticated by the US Department of State Authentications Office.

The total cost of an Apostille depends on the number of signatures (not documents) that you want to authenticate and the time by which you want to receive your Apostilled Illinois documents.  When you fill out the order form below, the cost is automatically updated as you specify your options.

We can handle every step of the Illinois Apostille process for any certified or notarized document which was issued in the state of Illinois.

The time it takes to get an Illinois Apostille depends on the nature of the documents that you want Apostilled. We've found that it takes around 7-10 business days for the Illinois to complete the Apostille process.

The Illinois Secretary of State reserves the right to extend expedite periods in time of extreme volume, staff shortage or equipment malfunction.  We are dependent on, and have no control over, the staff and systems of the Illinois Secretary of State.  In our experience the time specified is the time it usually takes the Illinois Secretary of State to process Apostille orders.  We get your Illinois Apostille request to the IL Secretary of State ASAP.  Once it is at the state we have very little or no control over the Illinois Apostille process.

If you are ready to order an Illinois Apostille online now just fill in the form below and click Place Order.  As soon as we receive your order for an Illinois Apostille we will start processing it ASAP.  We will provide you with a shipping label if you need to send any notarized Illinois documents to us.