Apostille Pricing
That is the whole price for a federal document or a notarized true copy — the U.S. Department of State's fee is already in it, and nothing is invoiced afterwards. State-issued documents such as birth certificates are a different lane and start at $300; the table below says exactly which one your document is in.
The full price list
Everything we charge for, in one place. These are the same amounts the checkout uses.
| Item | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Apostille — per document | $179 | Federal documents and notarized true copies. U.S. Department of State fee included. Charged per document, not per order. |
| Apostille — original document | From $300 | Birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates, court records, school records and anything else that must be apostilled as an original rather than as a true copy. Covers obtaining or receiving the certified original, filing it with the issuing state, and shipping the original both ways. Quoted per document before you pay. |
| Embassy legalization | Quoted | For countries outside the Hague Apostille Convention. Substantially more than an apostille: notarization, state or federal authentication, U.S. Department of State authentication and then the destination country's embassy, each with its own fee and its own grounds for refusal. A mistake on any one leg sends the document back to the beginning, so we price the whole chain up front. |
| Certified translation | From $99 | Starting price, and it depends on the destination country — this is the rate for most translations into Spanish or Portuguese for Colombia, Spain and Portugal. Other languages and destinations are quoted. Pages beyond what the base price covers start at $75 per page, invoiced after review — never added at checkout. |
| Sworn translation (traducción jurada) | From $200 | Spain only, by a translator appointed by Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC). Required by some Spanish consulates and regional offices; a certified translation is accepted everywhere else. Starting price for most documents; additional pages start at $75 per page. |
| U.S. shipping | $20Free | Tracked return shipping to any U.S. address, included in the price above. |
| International shipping | $119 | Tracked courier to any address abroad. Covers the original apostilled document. |
| Digital scan | Free | A secure colour scan sent the same day your apostille is issued — included on every order, whether or not you ship the original. |
| Prepaid label (you provide) | Free | Send us your own carrier label and we'll use it. No shipping charge from us. |
Prices are in U.S. dollars. Shipping is charged once per order; the apostille price is per document.
Is my document $179?
It depends on who issued it. Federal documents are apostilled in Washington at the flat rate. Documents issued by a state are apostilled by that state and need the original certified copy, so they are quoted.
| Flat $179 — pay online now | From $300 — quoted first |
|---|---|
| FBI Background Check · FDA Letter · SSA / Social Security Letter · VA Benefits Letter · IRS Letter · Certificate of Naturalization · NARA Document · Passport or ID Copy | Birth, Marriage, Divorce, or Death Certificate · School Document · Court Document · Power of Attorney · Personal Affidavit · Business or Corporate Document |
Not sure which one you have? Answer three questions and we'll price it exactly — or send us a photo on WhatsApp. A document going to a country outside the Hague Apostille Convention is always quoted, whichever lane it starts in, because it needs embassy legalization as well.
What the $179 includes
- The U.S. Department of State's apostille fee — no separate government charge later.
- Document review before filing, so a fixable problem is caught by us instead of by a rejection.
- Notarization of the true copy where the lane requires it.
- Hand delivery in Washington, DC — not mailed in and queued.
- A same-day secure scan the moment the apostille is issued.
- Tracked return shipping to any U.S. address.
- Support by phone and WhatsApp, 24/7.
What it doesn't
Getting the FBI background check itself
We apostille an FBI Identity History Summary you already have. If you still need the check, FederalBackgroundCheck.com issues it — then come back here.
State-issued originals
Vital records, court records, and school documents are apostilled by the issuing state, not by Washington, and they are apostilled as originals — the certified original has to reach us and be filed in person. That lane starts at $300 per document and is quoted individually.
Embassy legalization
Countries outside the Hague Apostille Convention need authentication and then legalization at their embassy — several steps in a fixed order, each charging its own fee. It costs substantially more than an apostille, and because an error on any one leg means starting the chain over, we quote the whole path before we begin instead of pricing it a step at a time.
Rush at the government
No one can buy a faster queue at the U.S. Department of State. What we compress is everything around it: same-day filing, in-person delivery, no mail-in wait.
Questions about price
How much does an apostille cost?+
Federal documents and notarized true copies are $179 per document with the U.S. Department of State's fee included — that is the price you pay at checkout. State-issued documents such as birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates start at $300 and are quoted individually, because they must be obtained as certified originals from the issuing state.
Is the government fee included in the price?+
Yes. The $179 is all-in for the flat lane: it covers the U.S. Department of State's apostille fee, our review and in-person filing, the same-day scan, and tracked U.S. return shipping. There is no second invoice after you order.
Is it a price per document or per order?+
Per document. Three documents in one order are $537. Shipping is charged once for the order, not once per document.
Why do birth certificates and other original documents cost more?+
Because they are apostilled as originals by the state that issued them, not as a true copy in Washington, so it is a different job: we obtain or receive the original certified copy, file it with the correct Secretary of State, and ship the original both ways. Apostilles on original documents start at $300 per document and are quoted individually. An FBI background check never needs this — it is a federal document and stays in the $179 lane.
Do I pay extra for shipping?+
Not inside the United States — tracked return shipping is included (it used to be $20). International courier delivery of the original is $119. If you only need the digital scan, or you send us your own prepaid label, there is no shipping charge at all.
How much is a certified translation?+
From $99. Translation prices are starting prices and depend on the destination country: $99 is the rate for most documents going to Colombia, Spain, or Portugal in Spanish or Portuguese. Spain also accepts — and some consulates require — a sworn translation (traducción jurada) by a MAEC-appointed translator, from $200. Other languages and destinations are quoted before you pay, and pages beyond what the base price covers start at $75 per page.
How much does embassy legalization cost?+
Substantially more than an apostille, and always quoted. A country outside the Hague Apostille Convention does not accept an apostille at all: the document has to pass through notarization, state or federal authentication, the U.S. Department of State, and finally that country's embassy — several legs in a fixed order, each charging its own fee and each able to refuse the document on its own grounds. Get one leg wrong and the chain restarts from the beginning, which is exactly why we quote and run the whole path rather than sell you a step at a time. Tell us the destination country and what the document is, and we'll price it end to end.
Are there hidden fees?+
No. What the checkout total says is what your card is charged. The only work we ever invoice afterwards is a translation longer than the base price covers — those extra pages start at $75 per page — and we tell you the amount before we start it, never silently, and never after your documents are already filed.
What if you can't complete my apostille?+
You get your money back. If a document turns out to be ineligible for an apostille, or the authority refuses it for a reason we should have caught in review, we refund you rather than keep the fee.
Prices shown are Federal Apostille™'s service prices and include the government authentication fee where stated. Federal Apostille™ is a private, independent courier and document-processing service. We are not affiliated with the U.S. Department of State or any government agency, and we do not provide legal advice. Processing times are subject to government offices.