How To Apostille Texas
Divorce Decrees
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We only need three things from you to complete the expedited Texas apostille divorce decree and Texas apostille divorce certificate service process.
First, mail us or drop off your original Texas divorce decree or Texas divorce certificate at our office. The divorce decree or divorce certificate you submit to us cannot be a photocopy or a notarized copy and you cannot fax or email us a copy of your divorce decree or divorce certificate to apostille or authenticate.
The Texas Secretary of State will only accept and issue apostille certificates and authentication certificates on original Texas divorce decrees and Texas divorce certificates that are physically presented to them not copies.
When we say an “original divorce decrees and divorce certificates” this means you have an original Texas divorce decree or Texas divorce certificate that was issued at the time (month/year) of your divorce or a certified copy of your divorce decree or divorce certificate that you can order and obtain from the Texas county of where the official divorce record was first recorded at.
Remember your Texas divorce decree or Texas divorce certificate must have the signature of the district clerk and county seal on it. The divorce decree or divorce certificate cannot just have the signature of the presiding judge or be notarized.
Your divorce decree or divorce certificate will be rejected by the Texas Secretary of State if the county district clerk signature and county seal is not on your certified divorce decree document.
Do not send or drop off to us a Texas divorce decree or divorce certificate to apostille or authenticate if it was issued before 1980. Your Texas divorce decree or Texas divorce certificate must be issued after 1980.
If not, you will need to order a new certified copy of your divorce decree or divorce certificate from the Texas county of where you were divorced because the Texas Secretary of State won’t be able to find that old of divorce record in their state records database.
If your state certified copy or original Texas divorce certificate or Texas divorce decree was issued between 1980-1999 you have roughly a 50/50 chance that it will be rejected by the Texas Secretary of State because they won’t be able to find that old of divorce record in their state records database.
With that said we’ve successfully apostilled and authenticated many Texas divorce certificates and Texas divorce decrees issued from the 1980’s and 1990’s that the Texas Secretary of State found so we’ll happily attempt to file your Texas divorce certificate or Texas divorce decree that was issued during these years.
But please be aware if the Texas Secretary of State does reject your Texas divorce certificate or Texas divorce decree we will email you a copy and mail you the original rejection letter that the Texas Secretary of State issues on all rejected documents.
You will then have to order a new certified divorce certificate or divorce decree copy from the county and pay us our full rush apostille service fee a second time to reattempt to apostille or authenticate your divorce certificate or divorce decree for the second time.
Your divorce decree or divorce certificate cannot be issued from another U.S state or foreign country and it must be issued from a county in the State of Texas.
If your divorce decree or divorce certificate was issued from another U.S state other than Texas you can only receive an apostille certification or authentication certification on a U.S divorce decree or divorce certificate or any other type of recordable document (birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses or marriage certificates) from the state in which the document originated and was issued from.
For example, if you got divorced in the State of California but you now reside in Texas you can only obtain an apostille certificate or authentication certificate on your California divorce decree or divorce certificate from the California Secretary of State. The exact same scenario applies to all recordable legal documents and the 49 U.S states.
Apostille Texas only apostilles divorce decrees and divorce certificates at the state government level for the State of Texas but if the country you’re sending your documents to is not a member nation of the 1961 Hague Convention you will need to go through two more legal document filing steps. We can assist you with these two additional steps if it is necessary even if we don’t obtain the state level authentication for you from a non-Texas state.
The second step is to rush file your divorce decree or divorce certificate at the United States Department of State (USDOS) office in Washington D.C but this step can only be done after you have been issued a state level authentication certificate by one of the fifty state secretary of state offices in the United States.
The third step is to rush file your divorce decree or divorce certificate with the foreign country embassy of where your documents are being submitted to in Washington D.C. This final document legalization step can only be done after you have been issued both a state and federal authentication certification on your U.S divorce decree or divorce certificate.
Second email, mail, or drop off at our office a prepaid FedEx or UPS return shipping label (we do not accept air waybills) that you can create and purchase online at FedEx.com or UPS.com without needing to create or have an existing account set up with them. You can also visit any UPS Store or FedEx Office location to purchase a prepaid return shipping label as well.
Do not use the United States Postal Service (USPS) because they lose things constantly
(potentially your Texas divorce decree or divorce certificate) and are completely unreliable and slow.
The reason we require a prepaid return shipping label is so we can mail your documents back to you or to wherever and whomever in the world that you want your documents shipped to.
On the prepaid return FedEx or UPS shipping label that you must provide us please list the senders (from) mailing address as your name/address or any U.S address because you cannot list our company name or address as the from/sender for liability reasons. Then for the receiver’s address (to) just list the name/address of where and who you want your documents mailed back to.
Click on the below links for easy step-by-step screenshot directions on how to create a prepaid return FedEx or UPS shipping label online in only a few minutes.
If you want your documents shipped back to you or to someone else internationally (USA to another foreign country) please also provide us with a customs invoice (see the two links below to download and sign the custom prefilled out for you templates) that shipping companies (FedEx, UPS) will normally require you to include whenever you ship documents internationally to certain countries.
If you or someone on your behalf will be returning to our office the following business day to pick up your apostilled or authenticated documents you of course won’t need to provide us with a prepaid return shipping label.
For the fastest possible return time, we can hand deliver your documents right to your home, office, business or hotel anywhere in Texas the very same day that we apostilled or authenticated them for an additional courier fee.
The courier cost will depend on what city and zip code in Texas you need us to travel to. This is for situations where you don’t have the time to travel back to our office to pick up your documents or you don’t want your documents mailed anywhere for some reason.
Third, you will need to download, sign, and email, mail, or drop off at our office our rush Texas apostille service order form that can be instantly downloaded by clicking on the Texas apostille order form button below.
We cannot accept or process your documents by mail, email, or drop off until we receive a properly completed apostille order form from you.
If you or someone on your behalf will be dropping your documents off at our office in person you must bring our completed Texas apostille order form in with you along with any documents that you want us to rush apostille or authenticate for you or for your company.
When you arrive at our office walk up to our front lobby receptionist desk area and tell them that you have some documents to dropoff for Apostille Texas. Detailed directions and pictures of our office and office building are here on our contact us page as well for you to view.
Please also understand your documents will not and cannot be apostilled or authenticated onsite at our office so this isn’t walk-in service.
The only legal and government entity in Texas that can issue apostille and authentication certificates is the Texas Secretary of State office which is where we will rush file your Texas divorce decree or Texas divorce certificate at on your behalf.
We must receive your Texas divorce decree or Texas divorce certificate by mail or dropped off at our office by noon CST Monday-Friday (excluding all federal bank and government holidays) to be able to provide you with same day Texas apostille services. If we receive your Texas divorce decree or Texas divorce certificate after that cutoff time don’t worry we’ll attempt to file it on the next business day.
Lastly, we do not have these Texas apostille order forms available at our front desk receptionist area.
So if you choose to drop your documents off at our office in person please make sure to print out and bring this Texas apostille services order form in with you or alternatively you can email us the completed Texas apostille order form ahead of time.
Texas Apostille &
Authentication
Services Pricing
All Texas Secretary of State government filing fees are included in the $95 price.
Money back guarantee if we don’t attempt to file your documents in the stated time.
Your documents couriered to any shipping center (return shipping costs not included).
Document filing status updates by email or text.
We’re based in Austin, TX, so no middleman for you to go through.
Phone and email support seven days a week.
Additional documents filed at the same time only $75 each.
Same Business Day
Apostille Service
All Texas Secretary of State government filing fees are included in the $95 price.
Money back guarantee if we don’t attempt to file your documents in the stated time.
Your documents couriered to any shipping center (return shipping costs not included).
Document filing status updates by email or text.
We’re based in Austin, TX, so no middleman for you to go through.
Phone and email support seven days a week.
Additional documents filed at the same time only $75 each.
