How long does an apostille take?

A federal apostille takes 7–10 business days — the fastest turnaround in the nation — while an Oregon state apostille can be done in as little as 1–2 business days. Here are the full timelines, what can add time, and how to hit a deadline.

Quick answer

A federal apostille takes 7–10 business days to process — the fastest turnaround in the nation — plus 2-day return shipping. An Oregon state apostille can be as fast as 1–2 business days (White-Glove VIP) or about 10 business days (Standard), depending on the service level you choose.

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Apostille turnaround times

How long an apostille takes depends on whether it's federal or state, and which service level you pick. Here's the full picture — including our shipping, which is built in.

Service	Processing	Return shipping
Federal apostille	7–10 business days*	2-day, included
Oregon state — White-Glove VIP	1–2 business days	Included
Oregon state — Premium	4–5 business days	Included
Oregon state — Standard	~10 business days	Included

*Our federal processing is the fastest in the nation — many services quote 8–12 weeks for the same U.S. Department of State apostille.

What can add time

A few things extend the timeline — all avoidable if you plan for them:

Notarization first — if your document must be notarized before it can be apostilled, build in a day for that (we coordinate it)
Ordering a fresh vital record — an old or photocopied birth/marriage certificate may need a new certified copy first
Certified translation — if your destination country requires it, translation happens after the apostille
Out-of-state documents — routed through that state's authority, which sets its own pace

In a hurry?

If you have a visa interview, a job start date, or a school deadline, tell us the date. For Oregon documents, our White-Glove VIP tier turns an apostille around in 1–2 business days. For federal documents, our 7–10 day processing already beats the months-long queues most services quote. We'll tell you honestly whether your deadline is doable before you pay.

Questions

Frequently asked

A federal apostille takes 7–10 business days to process — the fastest in the nation — plus 2-day return shipping. An Oregon state apostille ranges from 1–2 business days (White-Glove VIP) to about 10 business days (Standard), depending on the service level you choose.

An FBI background check apostille is a federal apostille, so it processes in 7–10 business days with 2-day return shipping included. If you still need the FBI check itself, we can run the fingerprinting and the apostille together — ask us about the full timeline.

For Oregon documents, our White-Glove VIP service returns an apostille in 1–2 business days. True same-day isn't possible because the document has to physically reach the Secretary of State, but VIP is the fastest option available. Tell us your deadline and we'll confirm what's realistic.

Most services simply mail your document into the standard U.S. Department of State queue and wait. Our federal processing is the fastest in the nation — a fraction of that time — because of how we prepare and route each order.

Processing times are for the authentication itself. Return shipping is included and, for federal apostilles, is 2-day. So plan for the processing window plus a couple of days in transit.