Do you need to apostille a Power of Attorney?

An apostille on a power of attorney allows a designed person to act on your behalf in another country.  By doing so, you do not need to travel outside of the U.S. saving you time and money.  In order for the power of attorney to be eligible for an apostille, it must be signed and notarized in the U.S.  If you are outside of the U.S. and need to have a power of attorney signed and notarized and for a country other than the U.S., the notary public at the U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate can assist you with the notarization.

For example, if you would like to sell your property in Italy, you can assign your family member, friend, or attorney in Italy to act on your behalf while you are still in the United States.

In order to apostille your power of attorney, you must mail in the original notarized copy to our office for processing with our order forms.  A power of attorney can only be authenticated from the State the documents were notarized in. The notary must be commissioned and use proper notarial wording for their State.

The Secretary of State does not have the authority to authenticate documents notarized in other States. For example, if your power of attorney was signed and notarized in the State of Florida, the State of Florida is the only State that can issue the apostille.  Another example is if your power of attorney was signed and notarized in the State of New York, only the State of New York can issue the apostille.

Beware of web-sites that ask you to upload your documents! Only original notarized documents can receive an apostille from the Secretary of State.

Some States require a notarized document to also be authenticated by the County Clerk.  These States include: Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, and Tennessee.

We recommend that your power of attorney be prepared by a professional from the Country requesting it. For example, if the Country of Mexico is requesting a signed and notarized power of attorney, we recommend that an attorney or paralegal in Mexico prepare your document both in English and Spanish.  Some US States will not apostille a document written in a foreign language.  In order to avoid this, we recommend your documents to be written in both languages.

If you are located outside of the USA and need to have your signed power of attorney authenticated for a country other than the USA, you can contact the local U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate office and meet with a U.S. Federal notary.  Once notarized, you can then mail in this document to our Washington DC apostille office for processing.

Obtaining an apostille can be complicated. Don’t leave this process to untrained employees or non-professionals who do not fully understand the Apostille process and the unique requirements of certain countries. Your paperwork could be rejected costing you time and money. Don’t let this happen to you!

Click the PDF download image to get started. Our apostille service is fast, convenient, and saves you time and money.