An apostille is the certificate that lets another country accept a North Carolina document. The Authentication Office inside the Secretary of State's office in Raleigh issues it. The same Secretary of State also keeps the business register, which matters for company papers. Our North Carolina office guide covers the business side, and the general apostille guide explains the idea for every state.
Which North Carolina documents can be apostilled?
The Authentication Office handles a wide list of state documents. The office names birth certificates, marriage certificates, statements of marital status, articles of incorporation, corporate bylaws, certificates of merger, powers of attorney, patent applications, trademarks, diplomas, school transcripts, deeds and assignments of interest.
School papers must be notarized by a North Carolina notary, since a school seal alone is not accepted. If you only hold a copy, you need a notarized true copy affidavit. Anything certified by a state agency must date from April 2000 or later.
| Who issues it | North Carolina Secretary of State, Authentication Office, Raleigh (sosnc.gov, checked ) |
|---|---|
| Fee per document | $10.00 per original; $10.00 per duplicate original (sosnc.gov, checked ) |
| How to submit | By mail or hand delivery; no appointments, no online requests (sosnc.gov, checked ) |
| Turnaround | 2-3 business days of processing (sosnc.gov, checked ) |
| Documents it covers | Birth and marriage certificates, articles of incorporation, bylaws, powers of attorney, diplomas, deeds (sosnc.gov, checked ) |
| Hague and non-Hague countries | Apostille for Hague Convention countries; Authentication or Authority for other countries (sosnc.gov, checked ) |
| Request page | sosnc.gov/divisions/authentications (sosnc.gov, checked ) |
| Where to send it | Authentication Office, 2 South Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC 27601-2903 (sosnc.gov, checked ) |
| Worth knowing | Out-of-state documents are not authenticated, and the official signature must date from April 2000 or later. (sosnc.gov, checked ) |
Apostille, authentication or authority?
The state offers three certificates. An apostille is for documents going to Hague Convention countries. An authentication is for North Carolina government documents going to countries outside the Convention. An authority is for documents notarized in North Carolina and going to those same countries. The last two lead to more steps at the US Department of State, and the foreign embassy may add its own.
Ask the receiving party which one it wants before you pay. The office keeps a list of Hague member countries on its site.
What does it cost?
For non-adoption documents the fee is $10.00 for an original and $10.00 for each duplicate original. Adoption documents are $10.00 for the original and $5.00 for each duplicate ordered at the same time, or $10.00 if ordered at a different time. The office wants all the originals for duplicates, because it does not authenticate copies for that purpose.
Checks go to the North Carolina Secretary of State. Money orders and certified checks are accepted. A $10 fee may be refunded if the document is rejected and not processed. Under the general rule, a refund request must come within 45 days of the fee being received.
How do you submit a request?
Put these items in one package.
- The original document with its original signatures.
- A cover letter with a contact name, a daytime phone number and the country of use.
- The correct fee.
- A certified or notarized English translation, if the document is in another language.
- A prepaid return envelope or courier label.
Mail goes to North Carolina Secretary of State, Authentication Office, Post Office Box 29622, Raleigh, NC 27626-0622. In person or by courier, use 2 South Salisbury Street, Raleigh. Without a prepaid envelope, the office returns documents by regular mail to a US address.
How long will it take?
Staff process documents within 2-3 business days and return them in the envelope or label you supplied. The office warns that hand delivered documents are typically processed faster, and mailed ones generally take five business days longer. Check the office's front page for the latest turnaround times before you plan around a deadline.
What about business documents?
For a certified copy from the Business Registration Division, call 919-814-5400 and choose option 4. Tell staff you need a certified document to authenticate. They email an invoice that you can pay by check or online. Send the invoice, a cover sheet, payment and a return envelope. Our certificate of good standing guide explains the other common company paper.
You can ask our private filing service if you want help assembling the package. State fees are separate, and you can send it to the state yourself.
Sources
- www.sosnc.gov/contact: office name, division, officeholder, street address, phone, contact page, hours. Checked .
- www.sosnc.gov/online_services/search/by_title/_Business_RegistrationLook: business search. Checked .
- www.sosnc.gov/manual/launching_a_business/selecting_a_name: name check. Checked .
- www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByChapter/Chapter_57D.html: LLC name endings. Checked .
- www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/ByArticle/Chapter_55D/Article_3.pdf: name rule. Checked .
- www.sosnc.gov/fees/by_title/_Business_Registration_Business_corporations: name reservation fee, corporation filing fee, nonprofit filing fee, expedite fees. Checked .
- www.sosnc.gov/fees/by_title/_Business_Registration_limited_liability_companies: LLC filing fee, foreign LLC fee, report fee, good standing certificate, certificate fee. Checked .
- www.sosnc.gov/manual/launching_a_business/maintaining_registration: report due date. Checked .
- www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_57D/GS_57D-6-06.html: late penalty. Checked .
- www.sosnc.gov/divisions/business_registration/online_business_services: online filing. Checked .
- www.sosnc.gov/divisions/authentications: who issues it, documents it covers, request page, where to send it. Checked .
- www.sosnc.gov/fees/by_title/_authentications: fee per document. Checked .
- sosnc.gov/frequently_asked_questions/by_title/_Authentications: how to submit, hague and non-hague countries, worth knowing. Checked .
- www.sosnc.gov/aut: turnaround. Checked .