Birth Certificate Apostille in Delaware

Delaware Apostille Requirements

• Authority: Delaware Secretary of State
• Office Location: Dover
• State Fee: $30
• Important Rule: Expedited service available for an additional fee.

What Is a Birth Certificate Apostille?

An important point is that the apostille does not translate your document. Most foreign authorities require a certified translation into the local language alongside the apostille. Most EU countries and many Middle Eastern authorities routinely ask for the apostille plus a sworn translation. We offer comprehensive apostille-plus-translation packages.

The Hague Apostille Convention streamlined the cumbersome embassy-by-embassy authentication process that existed before 1961. Previously, getting an American document accepted overseas required notarization, state-level certification, federal certification, and then embassy legalization. The Convention simplified this into a single certificate issued by one designated authority. In Delaware, that authority is the Delaware Secretary of State in Dover.

Birth Certificates are regularly among the highest-volume apostille requests. This is because Birth Certificates come up in many international processes including visa applications, residency permits, citizenship documentation, employment verification, and foreign legal proceedings. If you are in Delaware, the apostille for a Birth Certificate must come from the Delaware Secretary of State.

Delaware: State vs Federal Authority

The most commonly misunderstood thing to know about getting a Birth Certificate apostilled is determining which office issues apostilles for your specific document type. In the United States, there are two parallel systems: state and federal-level. Documents issued by Delaware, including Birth Certificates go to the Delaware Secretary of State in Dover. Federally issued records, such as FBI Background Checks, must go to the federal authentication office in DC.

For Delaware-issued records, the apostille is only available from the Delaware Secretary of State's office. Typically, the document needs to be in certified form with an authentic seal. The Delaware Secretary of State verifies the document's origin and seal and issues the Hague certificate usually within 1 to 4 weeks.

One of the most costly apostille mistakes is routing documents to the wrong office. If you send a state Birth Certificate to the US Department of State in DC, the federal office will refuse to process it. Similarly, sending an FBI Background Check to a state Secretary of State office will also come back unprocessed. Either way, the round-trip postal time sets your application back by weeks.

Why Local Offices Cannot Help

If you are working under a tight deadline, relying on postal mail to the Delaware Secretary of State is risky. A courier-assisted submission reduces turnaround from weeks to days. Our team handles Delaware-area pickups and submissions with complete end-to-end shipment tracking on every submission.

Many residents of Delaware initially assume they can handle this at a local notary office in Delaware. This is incorrect. A notary public can only witness signatures and verify identity. They have no authority to issue an apostille certificate — that authority belongs exclusively to.

Something else to consider is that Hague member countries check whether the apostille was issued by the proper office. If your Birth Certificate is apostilled by the wrong authority, your documents will be rejected at the destination. This may delay your entire application even if everything else in your application is correct.

The Delaware Apostille Authority

The Delaware Secretary of State in Dover is typically open Monday through Friday. Turnaround times without expedited service generally range from 5 business days to 4 weeks depending on current volume. If you are in Delaware and need it faster, a physical courier can reduce processing time to 2 to 5 business days.

Before your document can be submitted to the Delaware Secretary of State: some documents require prior notarization. Diplomas, powers of attorney, and affidavits often must be notarized before the Delaware Secretary of State will apostille them. Our team identifies whether any notarization is needed before starting the submission so there are no delays from missing prerequisites.

When apostilling a Birth Certificate from Delaware, the correct office is the Delaware Secretary of State in Dover. This is the only office in Delaware authorized to issue Hague Apostille certificates on records from Delaware government agencies. The Delaware Secretary of State holds the official seals of Delaware government officials and is therefore the only entity capable of certifying their authenticity.

How to Get Your Birth Certificate Apostilled in Delaware

One of the most overlooked steps is verifying that your document is current enough for the destination country. Federal background checks, for example, have a shelf life of six months or less at the time of submission to the foreign authority. If your Birth Certificate is outdated, you will need to obtain a fresh copy before apostilling. We check document dates as part of our intake process to avoid submitting documents that will be refused.

Depending on your document type require notarization before they can be apostilled. If your Birth Certificate is not a government-issued record, a notarization is usually required by a licensed notary before submission to the Delaware Secretary of State in Dover. We manages the full notarization and apostille process so you never have to navigate this alone.

Once we have your documents, we inspect each document for any issues that could cause rejection. This pre-flight review identifies issues like improper certification, wrong document versions, or missing state fees. Finding problems upfront avoids the need to resubmit — a first-attempt rejection.

How Long Does a Birth Certificate Apostille Take in Delaware?

Turnaround for apostille certification vary depending on the submission method and current government backlog. Documents sent by postal mail from Delaware to the Delaware Secretary of State in Dover typically take 4 to 8 weeks in total — including transit time, government processing, and return. During peak periods, particularly during visa application seasons, wait times can extend further.

For Delaware residents in a rush, the quickest option is a courier service that physically delivers to the Delaware Secretary of State. The Delaware Secretary of State in Dover can complete apostilles same-day for in-person deliveries. Our courier capitalizes on this to get Delaware clients their apostilles faster than any postal alternative.

The US Department of State has its own processing timeline for FBI Background Checks and other federal records. Standard mail-in processing to DC for federal apostilles can take 8 to 12 weeks due to the volume of requests from all 50 states. A physical courier in Washington D.C. gets the federal authentication done in 2 to 4 business days by physically submitting at the federal office.

What to Include With Your Submission

An easy-to-miss detail: for non-English documents, additional steps may be required depending on the Delaware Secretary of State. In other cases, the apostille is issued without requiring a translation and the destination country receives a translated copy alongside the apostille. Our team clarifies document-specific requirements when you place your order.

When submitting your Birth Certificate for apostille, make sure you include: your original Birth Certificate or an official certified copy, notarization if required for your document type, a completed submission form if required, correct fee payment for the state apostille, and a prepaid return envelope or shipping label. Leaving out any item will cause rejection.

Some Delaware residents ask whether a cover letter is needed with their apostille submission. For mail-in submissions, including a short cover page is advisable with your contact information and document details. The Delaware Secretary of State processes high volumes of requests and a clear cover letter helps the office handle your request correctly and quickly.

Common Apostille Mistakes to Avoid

Submitting a photocopy instead of an original or certified copy is a frequent cause of delays at the Delaware Secretary of State. The Delaware Secretary of State in Dover requires the original document or a properly certified copy. Submitting a scan or uncertified copy will be returned immediately. Request a new certified copy before starting the apostille process.

Failing to provide a prepaid return label is a simple but common mistake. The Delaware Secretary of State in Dover will not return your document without a prepaid return method. Without a prepaid return envelope, your completed apostille could wait weeks to reach you. Our service includes return shipping — no separate arrangements needed.

The most common and costly apostille mistake is sending your document to the wrong government authority. Delaware residents sometimes send state documents like Birth Certificates to the US Department of State in DC. In both cases, the office will reject the submission and return the document unprocessed. This adds 2 to 4 weeks — the round-trip postal time to the wrong office — before you can resubmit correctly.

Get Your Birth Certificate Apostilled in Delaware

Our courier network covers the Delaware Secretary of State in Dover, typically returning your apostilled document in 2 to 5 business days. No need to visit any government office.

Frequently Asked Questions — Birth Certificate Apostille in Delaware