Why apostille Marriage License or Marriage Certificate
A Marriage Certificate is more than just a piece of paper stating that you are married. A marriage certificate is a legal document, an official record of your marriage, that contains vital information about both parties that were wed. You may be asked to provide a marriage certificate as proof of spousal privileges including contributing to or withdrawing from your spouse’s IRA, obtaining Social Security benefits from or for a spouse, and many issues regarding medical, death, and estate processes.
When you travel overseas, the marriage certificate is even more essential. Many countries still have rules that limit services based on marriage such as family visas, adoptions, and property purchases. Traveling with children, seeking ownership in a company, and inheritance issues also require a marriage certificate more times than not. If you are married to a foreigner, the marriage certificate is critical when traveling or residing in another country, especially if your spouse does not have a United States passport.
Apostille on Marriage Certificate process
As with most official documents, foreign governments will only consider documents, including marriage certificates, “official” if they have been authenticated, and the acceptable authentication process varies depending on the country or countries in which you will be visiting or living. Member countries of the Hague Convention of 1961 require a “document apostille” or stamp of authenticity specially designed for Hague Convention countries (currently 80 countries, 79 states, and one Regional Economic Integration Organization). Other countries require a Certificate of Authenticity from the U.S. Office of Authentications or U.S. Department of State.
The first step to obtaining a marriage certificate apostille is purchasing a certified copy of your marriage certificate since originals cannot be apostilled. Marriage certificates are issued by the state or county, and each has their own process and fee to obtain certified copies. Once you receive your certified marriage certificate, you need an apostille from the designated Competent Authority in the state where the document was issued. No state can apostille a document issued by another state, and the U.S. Department of State will almost never issue an apostille for any state issued documents; however, they will provide a Certificate of Authenticity if your document is not going to a Hague Convention country.
If you were married overseas, hopefully, you received a certified copy of your marriage certificate from the embassy. If not, you will need to contact them for their particular process in getting a certified copy of your marriage certificate. Once you obtain this document, you will need to seek a marriage certificate apostille from the U.S. Department of State since documents issued by the federal government or signed by a federal officer, an American Consular Officer, or a military notary or Judge Advocate go through the federal apostille process.
Certified translation of Marriage Certificate and Apostille Stamp
Once you receive your marriage certificate apostille, you will want to have it translated. Most countries will not consider documents “legal” unless they are written in the language of the country in which they will be presented. Note that translations must meet stringent certification and notarization requirements.
Obtaining an apostilled marriage certificate from the United States when you are already overseas can be time-consuming and troubling. Time differences, mailing costs, and other obstacles can make the process seem impossible. If you find yourself in this situation, you may want to consider using a document retrieval service.
Tight timelines (many certified documents are only considered valid for an apostille for 6 months), inconsistent application procedures, and varied requirements based on your destination country or countries just add to the frustration of the apostille and translation process. To ensure your documents are processed properly and in time, you should seriously consider using a professional apostille company. After all, they navigate these waters thousands of times each month, and these are services you can’t afford to have performed improperly.
Hiring specialists for apostilling your Marriage License
Apoling Solutions is a full-service apostille, translation, and document retrieval service. This means that from one location, Apoling Solutions retrieves documents, orders certified copies, apostilles and authenticates documents, translates, certifies translations, and will rush your documents back to you. Once you let Apoling Solutions know your plans, they will obtain your marriage certificate apostille from any of the 50 U.S. states and/or the U.S. State Department depending on your needs. If you live overseas, Apoling Solutions will retrieve your documents and apostilles for you.
With Apoling Solutions, you need to contact just one agency regardless of where you live or how many documents you need. Even better, you have peace of mind knowing that your documents will be legal, accepted, and not require any additional services because they are guaranteed to align with all international and domestic requirements.