Criminal Background Check Apostille in New Jersey

New Jersey residents who need their Criminal Background Check apostilled must submit it to the New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton. Processing fees are $25 per apostille. Choose your city to find courier options.

Order NowFrom $89 all-inclusive · No office visits · Insured FedEx return

New Jersey Apostille Requirements

Authority: New Jersey Department of the Treasury
Office Location: Trenton
State Fee: $25
Important Rule: High processing fee.

Skip the New Jersey government office.

Our courier handles submission to New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton — standard 2–5 days, express available.

Order Now

Select your city to view local apostille processing options and courier times.

Newark Jersey City Paterson Elizabeth Edison Trenton Toms River Clifton Camden Passaic Cherry Hill Union City Bayonne Middletown East Orange North Bergen Irvington Vineland South Vineland Wayne New Brunswick Union Piscataway Jackson Lakewood Hoboken West New York Perth Amboy Plainfield Parsippany Bloomfield East Brunswick West Orange Sayreville Hackensack Bridgewater North Brunswick Sicklerville Sayreville Junction Kearny Linden Mount Laurel Marlboro Teaneck Montclair Atlantic City Hillsborough Sewell Belleville Fort Lee Ewing Pennsauken Orange Fair Lawn Garfield Willingboro Long Branch Westfield Princeton Rahway Englewood Millville Livingston Bergenfield Nutley Paramus West Milford Mercerville-Hamilton Square Randolph Ridgewood Bridgeton Maplewood Cliffside Park Lodi Vincentown South Plainfield Carteret Mahwah Old Bridge Scotch Plains South Old Bridge Cranford Hillside North Plainfield Somerset Summit Roselle Basking Ridge Pleasantville Palisades Park Bayville Elmwood Park Millburn Lyndhurst Sparta Woodbridge Glassboro Secaucus Maple Shade Hawthorne Iselin Rutherford Morristown Point Pleasant Dover Dumont Colonia Tinton Falls Lindenwold South Orange Wyckoff Avenel New Milford Denville South River Hopatcong Hills Ocean Acres Madison North Arlington Asbury Park Williamstown Harrison Warren Township Fords Ramsey Tenafly Cinnaminson Clark Hammonton Springdale Phillipsburg Hopatcong Fairview Springfield Highland Park Moorestown-Lenola Bradley Gardens Berkeley Heights Cherry Hill Mall Weehawken Collingswood Middlesex Metuchen Princeton Meadows Roselle Park West Freehold Verona Franklin Park Mercerville Oakland Short Hills Saddle Brook Ridgefield Park Hanover Holiday City-Berkeley Hamilton Square Lumberton Woodland Park New Providence Cedar Grove Ringwood Atco Eatontown Hasbrouck Heights Red Bank Somerville East Hanover Edgewater Glen Rock Martinsville Freehold Pennsville Wanaque Florham Park Wallington River Edge Guttenberg Upper Montclair Bellmawr Haddonfield Ridgefield Greentree Ocean City Gloucester City Robertsville Westwood Browns Mills Beachwood Pompton Lakes Totowa Little Ferry Franklin Lakes Mount Holly Echelon Somers Point Little Falls Hillsdale Pine Hill Bound Brook Ventnor City Manville Lincoln Park Kinnelon Colts Neck Marlton Waldwick Woodbury Lake Mohawk Keansburg Burlington Maywood Hackettstown River Vale White Horse Villas Lake Hiawatha Kendall Park Brookdale Leonia Brigantine East Rutherford Succasunna Lake Hopatcong Chatham Budd Lake Park Ridge Pitman Matawan South Amboy White Meadow Lake Whippany Cresskill Columbus Audubon Pine Lake Park East Franklin Closter North Haledon Northfield Clayton Mystic Island Spotswood Haledon Montvale Boonton Bogota Runnemede Upper Saddle River Absecon Ashland Wood-Ridge Oradell Bloomingdale Kenilworth Bedminster Raritan West Long Branch Newton Caldwell Crestwood Village Bernardsville Fort Dix Butler Emerson Glen Ridge Fanwood Berlin Haddon Heights Twin Rivers Dunellen Edgewater Park Carneys Point Midland Park Palmyra Strathmore Smithville Yardville Keyport Madison Park Pomona Dayton Fairfield Milltown Stratford Linwood Rumson Mountainside Allendale Barrington North Caldwell Wharton Laurence Harbor Yorketown Washington Rockaway Landing Carlstadt Ramtown Margate City Green Knoll Lincroft Fair Haven Jamesburg Old Tappan Paulsboro Prospect Park Woodcliff Lake Watchung Little Silver Ramblewood Roseland Norwood Heathcote Manasquan Oceanport Belmar Kingston Estates Finderne Union Beach Morris Plains Rochelle Park Hightstown Somerdale Englewood Cliffs Cape May Court House Mount Arlington Forked River Wildwood Demarest Morganville Mendham Clementon Penns Grove Haskell Highland Lake Salem East Freehold Highlands South Bound Brook Northvale Franklin Beckett Harrington Park Neptune City Brielle Glendora Spring Lake Heights Flemington Mount Ephraim Buena Beattystown Point Pleasant Beach Blackwood Wanamassa Franklin Center Westville Florence Ellisburg Leisure Village Magnolia Garwood Atlantic Highlands Mountain Lakes Riverdale Bradley Beach Egg Harbor City Leisure Village East Ho-Ho-Kus Medford Lakes Golden Triangle Shrewsbury Cedar Knolls Oakhurst Oaklyn Mullica Hill Country Lake Estates North Wildwood Beach Haven West Lawrenceville Bordentown Lambertville Society Hill Merchantville Port Monmouth Turnersville Gibbstown South Toms River Port Reading Roebling McGuire AFB Shark River Hills Holiday City South Singac Leisuretowne High Bridge Woodstown Cape May Leisure Village West-Pine Lake Park Oak Valley Haworth Richwood Stanhope Tuckerton Ocean Grove North Middletown Saddle River Netcong Monmouth Beach North Cape May Delanco Cliffwood Beach Sixmile Run Wildwood Crest Hamburg Concordia Robbinsville Woodbury Heights Kenvil National Park Laurel Lake Wood-Lynne Spring Lake Groveville Lawnside Seaside Heights Monmouth Junction Barnegat Moonachie Leonardo Sewaren Riverton Plainsboro Center Lakehurst Rio Grande Clearbrook Park Rossmoor Clinton Swedesboro Belvidere Pennington Beverly New Egypt West Belmar Leisure Knoll Woodbine Whittingham Princeton Junction Pemberton Heights East Newark Brownville Pine Ridge at Crestwood Presidential Lakes Estates Middlebush Manahawkin Alpha Ogdensburg Wenonah Gibbsboro North Beach Haven Helmetta Whitesboro Whitesboro-Burleigh Cranbury Essex Fells Pine Beach Mays Landing Erma Victory Lakes Holiday Heights Vista Center Whitehouse Station Sea Isle City Gladstone Peapack Sussex Navesink Ocean Gate Ten Mile Run Englishtown Brooklawn Hopewell Alpine Laurel Springs Long Valley Folsom Allentown Sea Girt Lavallette Avon-by-the-Sea South Belmar Upper Pohatcong Belford Lake Como Estell Manor Vernon Center Collings Lakes Annandale Chester Lebanon Island Heights Glen Gardner Chesilhurst Vernon Valley Waretown Brass Castle Seaside Park Newfield Victory Gardens Voorhees Winfield Kingston Seabrook Farms Hardwick Elwood Cedar Glen Lakes Olivet Alloway Frenchtown Pemberton Port Norris Hampton Sea Bright Elmer Farmingdale Avalon Cedar Glen West Fairton Lake Telemark Dover Beaches North Weston Dover Beaches South Surf City Milford Crandon Lakes Beach Haven Ship Bottom Silver Ridge Port Republic Rosenhayn Oxford Califon West Cape May Audubon Park West Caldwell

What Is a Criminal Background Check Apostille?

The Hague Apostille Convention eliminated the old multi-step embassy legalization process that existed before 1961. Before apostilles, getting a US document recognized abroad involved notarization, state-level certification, federal certification, and then embassy legalization. The apostille replaced this with one standardized certificate from the appropriate government office. For Criminal Background Checks issued in New Jersey, that authority is the New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton.

Criminal Background Checks are among the most frequently apostilled documents in the United States. The reason Criminal Background Checks come up in many international processes including immigration, employment, international education, and cross-border legal matters. For residents of New Jersey, only the New Jersey Department of the Treasury can issue this certification in NJ.

An apostille is a type of Hague certification created under the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. Unlike a local notary stamp, an apostille is valid in over 120 countries worldwide — meaning your Criminal Background Check is valid for submission to international authorities without additional authentication. For residents of New Jersey, obtaining this certification goes through the New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton.

New Jersey: State vs Federal Authority

For documents issued by New Jersey government agencies, the apostille can only be issued by the New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton. In most cases, the document must carry an original official seal or notarization. The New Jersey Department of the Treasury reviews the document's seals and signatures and attaches the apostille typically in 1 to 3 weeks.

The most common apostille mistake is submitting documents to the incorrect government authority. If you send a state Criminal Background Check to Washington D.C., it will be rejected and returned. In reverse, sending an FBI Background Check to the New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton results in the same rejection. Either way, the round-trip postal time sets your application back by weeks.

When timelines are tight, same-day processing is offered by our courier service. Some state offices offer walk-in or expedited processing. Our courier uses these expedited tracks by physically appearing at the office, bypassing the mail queue entirely.

Why Local Offices Cannot Help

People across New Jersey mistakenly believe they can handle this at a local UPS Store or notary. This is incorrect. A local notary can only witness signatures and verify identity. They are not permitted to attach an apostille certificate — only the New Jersey Department of the Treasury can do this.

Something else to consider is that the receiving country will verify that the apostille came from the correct authority. If your Criminal Background Check is apostilled by the wrong authority, your documents will be rejected at the destination. This could trigger a visa denial even if everything else in your application is correct.

It is also worth knowing, county clerks, municipal offices, and city government offices in NJ also cannot issue apostilles. Even a trip to any local New Jersey government office would not produce an apostille. The sole authority in New Jersey authorized to issue apostilles for state documents is the New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton.

The New Jersey Apostille Authority

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

In NJ, the official Hague authority is the New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton. The New Jersey Department of the Treasury is the sole office in NJ to grant Hague Apostille certificates on New Jersey-issued public documents. The New Jersey Department of the Treasury is authorized to verify the seals and signatures of all New Jersey public officials and is therefore the only entity capable of certifying their authenticity.

When the New Jersey Department of the Treasury receives your Criminal Background Check, an authorized state officer reviews the document and checks that signatures are from known, authorized officials. If everything checks out, the apostille is issued as a cover page or attachment. The apostilled document is then mailed back to you. Our courier picks it up within 24 hours.

How to Get Your Criminal Background Check Apostilled in New Jersey

Some document types must be notarized before they can be apostilled. When your document is a private document — such as an affidavit, power of attorney, or diploma, a notarization is usually required by a licensed notary before submission to the New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton. Our service coordinates any required pre-notarization so there are no surprises at the New Jersey Department of the Treasury.

Once we have your documents, our team reviews it for compliance with the New Jersey Department of the Treasury's submission requirements. This pre-flight review catches common problems like improper certification, wrong document versions, or missing state fees. Catching these before submission avoids the need to resubmit — rejection from the New Jersey Department of the Treasury that restarts the whole process.

Getting a Criminal Background Check apostilled involves a clear sequence of steps. Step one: ensure your Criminal Background Check is in its original, certified form. Second: verify the document carries an authentic official seal. Step three: send it to the correct authority along with the applicable state fee. Step four: collect the completed apostille — ready for any Hague member country.

How Long Does a Criminal Background Check Apostille Take in New Jersey?

If you need your Criminal Background Check apostilled urgently, the fastest path is a courier service that physically delivers to the New Jersey Department of the Treasury. The New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton offer same-day service for walk-in submissions. Our courier uses this option wherever available to get New Jersey clients their apostilles within a business week.

The US Department of State operates on a separate schedule for federal documents. Regular postal submissions to the Office of Authentications often takes 8 to 12 weeks due to the volume of requests from all 50 states. A physical courier in Washington D.C. can complete the federal apostille in 2 to 4 business days by physically submitting at the federal office.

Tracking your apostille is one of the most valued aspects of using our courier service. Our service includes status updates at each step: initial pickup, arrival at our processing hub, delivery to the government office, completion confirmation, and outbound FedEx tracking back to New Jersey. This level of visibility is unavailable with standard postal submission.

What to Include With Your Submission

Before sending your document to the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, make sure you include: your original Criminal Background Check 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. Missing any of these will cause rejection.

A common question is whether they should include a cover letter with their apostille submission. For mail-in submissions, a brief cover letter is recommended with your contact information and document details. The New Jersey Department of the Treasury handles many submissions daily and a clear cover letter helps the office handle your request correctly and quickly.

Payment for the state fee is required. Forms of payment differ at each New Jersey Department of the Treasury but generally include personal check, money order, or credit card for online portals. We handles the fee payment so you never worry about wrong payment forms.

Common Apostille Mistakes to Avoid

Forgetting to include return shipping is an easily preventable error that delays apostille returns. The New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton does not automatically return documents. Without a prepaid return envelope, your completed apostille could wait weeks to reach you. We handle return shipping as part of our flat-rate fee — you never have to worry about return logistics.

The single most expensive apostille error is routing your Criminal Background Check to the incorrect office. New Jersey residents sometimes send state documents like Criminal Background Checks to the US Department of State in DC. Either way, the office will reject the submission and return the document unprocessed. This mistake costs weeks — the time lost in transit to and from the wrong authority — before you are even back to square one.

Sending original documents through the US Postal Service without a tracking number is a significant risk. Documents sent by uninsured mail are vulnerable to loss with no recourse. Original government-issued documents are difficult or expensive to replace. We use FedEx with full insurance and tracking for maximum protection from the moment we receive your document to its return to New Jersey.

Get Your Criminal Background Check Apostilled in New Jersey

Our courier network covers the New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton, typically returning your apostilled document in 2 to 5 business days. No need to visit any government office.

Order Now

Frequently Asked Questions — Criminal Background Check Apostille in New Jersey

Which office handles Criminal Background Check apostilles in New Jersey?

In New Jersey, the New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton is the only office authorized to issue Hague Apostille certificates on Criminal Background Checks. County clerks, local notaries, and municipal offices cannot issue apostilles — submitting to the wrong office results in rejection and significant delays.

How long does a New Jersey Criminal Background Check apostille take from New Jersey?

Processing times at the New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton typically range from 1 to 3 weeks for mailed-in requests depending on current volume. Courier-assisted submissions — where a runner physically delivers your documents — generally complete in 2 to 5 business days.

Does my Criminal Background Check need to be notarized before I can get an apostille in New Jersey?

It depends on the document type and its origin. Criminal Background Checks issued directly by a New Jersey government office typically do not need additional notarization. However, documents from county offices or private institutions usually must be notarized or certified before the New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton will accept them. We review your document before submission to confirm any pre-apostille requirements.

Can I track my Criminal Background Check while it is being apostilled at the New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton?

With direct mail-in submission, tracking is limited to postal delivery confirmation. With our courier service, you receive status updates at every stage: document receipt at our hub, hand-delivery to the New Jersey Department of the Treasury in Trenton, apostille issuance confirmation, and outbound FedEx tracking for return shipment to New Jersey.