Apostille for Israel
Almost everyone who searches for this is holding a US document that an Israeli office has asked to see — most often an Aliyah file, sometimes a marriage registration, a work permit, or a university admission. The confusing part is never Israel's side. It is that the United States has no single apostille office: fifty-one of them issue apostilles for state records, and one federal office issues them for federal records. Sending a birth certificate to the wrong one is the single most common reason an Israel-bound document comes back untouched.
Which authority apostilles your document
| Your document | Apostille issued by | With us |
|---|---|---|
| Birth certificate | Secretary of State of the state that issued it | Quoted from $300 |
| Marriage certificate, divorce decree, death certificate | Secretary of State of the state that issued it | Quoted from $300 |
| FBI Identity History Summary (background check) | U.S. Department of State, Washington DC | $179 flat |
| Notarized letters and affidavits — proof-of-Judaism letter, personal status affidavit, split-Aliyah declaration | Notarized first, then the Secretary of State of the notary's state | $179 flat |
Government fees are included in both figures. Vital records are quoted rather than sold at a flat rate because the issuing state, the county step and the condition of your copy all move the real cost — we would rather tell you the number before you pay than after. Add $119 if the finished document has to reach you in Israel rather than a US address.
If this is for Aliyah
Since 1 January 2019 the State of Israel has required authentication on every official document in the Aliyah process. Nefesh B'Nefesh asks for a birth certificate from every applicant, a marriage certificate, divorce decree or death certificate where marital status calls for it, name-change papers, adoption papers, notarized split-Aliyah declarations, and a criminal background check — each carrying an apostille. Note that the list crosses the state/federal line: the certificates go to a state Secretary of State and the background check goes to the U.S. Department of State, which is why an Aliyah file usually needs both lanes running at once rather than one after the other. Read the requirements from Nefesh B'Nefesh directly; we authenticate the paperwork, we do not adjudicate eligibility.
Where to go next
For how a state-issued record is certified and what a usable certified copy looks like, see birth certificates and marriage certificates. For how a federal record moves through the U.S. Department of State, and how long that takes, see the FBI background check apostille page. If you have not obtained the background check itself yet, that comes first and you can order it at FederalBackgroundCheck.com.
Two things that are usually assumed and are usually wrong
Your documents are probably not too old. Nefesh B'Nefesh states that these documents need authentication regardless of their issue date, so the 1974 birth certificate in your parents' filing cabinet is fine as long as it is a certified copy from the vital-records office rather than a decorative hospital certificate. There is no general recency window on the US side of an Aliyah file.
You probably do not need a Hebrew translation. The authentication guidance sets out no translation requirement, and the document checklist calls for a translation only where a document is in neither English nor Hebrew — which a US certificate is not. We would rather lose the add-on than sell you a translation nobody asked for. If a particular rabbinate, university or employer does ask for Hebrew in writing, send us what they sent you and we will quote it on its own.
Holding a document issued in Israel?
Then this is the wrong direction and no US office can help you. Israel apostilles its own public documents through the authorities it designated to the Hague Conference: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for records issued by Israeli government ministries, and Registrars of the Magistrates' Courts — along with civil servants appointed under the Notaries Law, 1976 — for notarial documents. The published fee is 35 NIS. We do not sell that service and pointing you straight at it saves you a week.
Israel apostille FAQ
Does Israel accept an apostille, or does my document need consular legalization?+
An apostille. Israel is a contracting party to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, so a single apostille certificate replaces the old embassy-legalization chain. An Israeli consulate in the United States will not legalize a US public document, and does not need to.
Who issues the apostille for a US birth or marriage certificate going to Israel?+
The Secretary of State of the state that issued the certificate — not the federal government. Nefesh B'Nefesh states the same thing plainly: in the United States, apostilles are issued by the state department of each state separately. A New Jersey birth certificate is apostilled in Trenton, a California one in Sacramento.
Which documents does an Aliyah application need apostilled?+
Nefesh B'Nefesh lists birth certificates for every applicant; marriage, divorce or death certificates where applicable; name-change documents; adoption papers; split-Aliyah declarations (notarized first); and a criminal background check. Since 1 January 2019 the State of Israel has required authentication on all official documents submitted in the Aliyah process.
Do my documents have to have been issued recently?+
For US documents, no. Nefesh B'Nefesh states that these documents need authentication regardless of their issue date. A birth certificate from 1974 is as acceptable as one issued last month, provided it is a certified copy from the issuing vital-records office rather than a hospital souvenir certificate.
Do I need a Hebrew translation of an apostilled US document?+
Usually not, and we will not sell you one you do not need. Nefesh B'Nefesh's authentication guidance sets out no translation requirement, and its document checklist asks for a translation only where a document is in neither English nor Hebrew. If a specific receiving body — a rabbinate, a university, an employer — asks you for Hebrew in writing, send us what they wrote and we will quote that translation separately.
My birth certificate was issued in New York City. Is there anything different?+
Yes, and it catches people out. NYC birth certificates generally have to be reissued with a letter of exemplification attached so the New York County Clerk can authenticate them before the New York Secretary of State will apostille them. Buying a fresh certificate that already carries the exemplification letter is the shortest path. Tell us it is a NYC record when you order and we will handle the county step.
My document was issued in Israel. Can you apostille it?+
No — and no US office can. An Israeli public document is apostilled inside Israel by Israel's own designated authorities: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for documents issued by Israeli government ministries, and Registrars of the Magistrates' Courts (and civil servants appointed under the Notaries Law, 1976) for notarial documents. The fee listed with the Hague Conference is 35 NIS. That is a service we do not sell and would only slow you down.
Federal Apostille™ is a private, independent courier and document-processing service. We are not affiliated with the FBI, the U.S. Department of State, the government of Israel, the Jewish Agency, Nefesh B'Nefesh, or any government agency. Requirements are summarised from the sources linked above and can change — confirm anything decision-critical with the office that asked you for the document.