A birth certificate is one of the most-requested documents for life abroad — dual citizenship, a spousal visa, residency, enrolling your child in school overseas. We authenticate it so it's accepted where you're headed. Oregon and Washington are handled in-house; because we cover all 50 states, we can apostille a birth certificate issued anywhere in the country.
An apostille is an internationally recognized certificate attached to your birth certificate that proves it's genuine — so a foreign government, university, or consulate will accept it without an embassy visit. It's required across the 120+ countries in the Hague Apostille Convention. Get it wrong — the wrong copy, the wrong state, an unnecessary notarization — and it comes back rejected, costing you weeks. That's the part we take off your plate.
Claiming citizenship by descent in Italy, Ireland, Poland, Mexico and beyond almost always starts with an apostilled birth certificate.
Spousal visas, residency, and family reunification applications abroad routinely require your authenticated birth record.
Getting married in another country? Most civil registries ask for an apostilled birth certificate before they'll issue a license.
Enrolling a child in school overseas, or establishing residency, often means proving identity with an apostilled birth certificate.
You need a certified copy of your birth certificate issued by the state or county vital records office — the one with the registrar's signature or raised seal. The decorative certificate from the hospital, a photocopy, or a laminated card will be rejected. Don't have a certified copy on hand? You can order one from VitalChek before we begin. Not sure if what you have will work? Send us a photo and we'll tell you in a minute.
Don't notarize it. A birth certificate is a vital record — it goes straight from the issuing agency to the state's authentication authority. Adding a notary stamp to a vital record can actually cause a rejection. (Notarization is only for documents like powers of attorney and affidavits — different track.)
This trips up almost everyone. If you were born in Texas but live in Oregon, your birth certificate is apostilled by Texas — not Oregon. That's exactly why we cover all 50 states: you hand it to us and we handle it — directly in Oregon and Washington, or hand-carried by a member of our trusted courier team in every other state. One point of contact, zero legwork. Not sure which state issued yours, or need a certified copy first? Just ask.
This is our backyard. We handle Oregon and Washington birth certificate apostilles start to finish — you hand it to us, we take it to the Secretary of State, and it comes back to you. Choose the timeline that fits your deadline.
These tiers apply to both Oregon and Washington birth certificates, handled in-house. Certificates from all other states are hand-carried by our trusted courier team — pricing and timelines vary, so call (503) 536-2326 for a quick quote. Additional fees may apply and will be discussed when you order.
Use a state-certified copy of your birth certificate — not the hospital souvenir. Don't have one? Order it at VitalChek, and we'll confirm the issuing state.
Bring it in, upload it, or mail it. We prepare everything and route it to the correct authority — the issuing state's Secretary of State. No notarization needed.
In-house for Oregon and Washington, or hand-carried by our courier team elsewhere. Your apostilled birth certificate comes back to you, ready to use abroad.
If your destination country doesn't use English, they'll likely require a certified translation of the apostilled birth certificate. The order matters: get the apostille first, then translate the full packet — so you never pay to redo it. We handle translation too, certified or standard, typically $50 to $75 per page. We'll confirm your timeline up front.
You can request an apostille from the issuing state on your own. Here's how that compares to letting us handle it.
| Do it yourself | Oregon Fingerprinting | |
|---|---|---|
| Processing time | Weeks, and it varies by state | As fast as 1–2 business days (OR & WA) |
| Right copy & steps | You guess which copy and whether to notarize | We confirm it before anything is submitted |
| Rejection risk | High — wrong copy, wrong state, needless notary | We catch issues before submission |
| Another state's record | You navigate an out-of-state office alone | Our courier team hand-carries it for you |
| Support | None — you're on your own | A real person, start to finish |
We apostille the full range of state documents. If you're assembling a packet for immigration or dual citizenship, we can handle it all in one coordinated order.
Also apostilled: marriage certificates, death, and divorce certificates; notarized documents (powers of attorney, affidavits, single-status letters); diplomas and transcripts; and business or corporate records. See our full state apostille page for every document and the 50-state picker. Just here for an FBI background check? That's a federal document — see federal apostille.
Need a document notarized first? Some documents (powers of attorney, affidavits, single-status letters) must be notarized before they can be apostilled — birth certificates do not. Our sister company, The Notaryous LLC, handles mobile notary across Portland Metro & Clark County, WA, so we can notarize and apostille in one coordinated process.
We route your certificate to the state that issued it and return it apostilled for the 120+ Hague Convention countries — Oregon and Washington in-house, every other state through our trusted courier team.
Oregon and Washington in-house, all 50 states covered. Tell us where you were born and where it's headed — we'll handle it and return it ready to use abroad.
