Are third party Apostille services legit?

January 23, 2021 3:21 PM

I need to have my birth certificate Apostilled. The Secretary of State’s office is closed due to Covid—indefinitely according to their voicemail. They are not taking phone calls or emails. I see that third party apostille services exist for hefty fees—are they legitimate?

I no longer live in the state where I was born and do not have any contacts there. Travel there is also impossible due to the current situation (and they’re closed anyway!) Any suggestions or experience welcome.

posted by stillmoving to Law & Government (2 answers total)

What state were you born in? I believe this is the state that will need to handle the documentation so specificity would help. If you were born outside the USA, then it would be the country where you were born that would have to provide it.
posted by raccoon409 at 3:48 PM on January 23, 2021

What state is this in? Are you sure that the office is closed? The in-person window might be closed but the office is probably still operating (though slower than normal). I just had a bunch of documents Apostilled in New York - the physical offices in Albany and NYC are/were closed, but they still were verifying and issuing the documents via mail. It took mine a while (sent in September, received in December) but all were done. The only clues I had that the process was working was delivery confirmation for my fedex and that they cashed my check.

All the third-party Apostille services I looked at (for both California and New York) were just expediters - adding a significant fee for a shorter turnaround.
posted by niicholas at 3:52 PM on January 23, 2021 [1 favorite]