Minnesota Apostille

Minnesota Secretary of State apostilles documents issued, recorded or notarized in Minnesota, for $5 per Apostille certificate. Pick the document and the country to see what it needs first and how to send it. This runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Minnesota office checked against official sources on October 24, 2026.

This runs in your browser. Nothing you pick is sent, saved or added to the page address.

Pick the state where the document was issued, recorded or notarized, not the state you live in.

Choose who issued the document, the kind of document and the country to see the steps.

Who issues apostilles in Minnesota

Apostilles and authentication certificates for documents issued in Minnesota come from Minnesota Secretary of State (Apostille unit, First National Bank Building). Official page

Fees

  • Apostille: $5 per Apostille certificate. (source)
  • Minnesota issues one certificate for every country, in or outside the Apostille Convention.

How to send a request

  • By mail (Saint Paul): mail the request form, the documents and a payment made payable to MN Secretary of State (source)
  • In person (Saint Paul): by appointment only, no walk-ins; up to 10 documents per appointment, booked up to 14 days ahead; more than 10 documents can be mailed or dropped off with payment (source)
  • Request form: Apostille Authentication Request Form (Rev. 07/26/2024)

What Minnesota needs first, by document

Birth, death or marriage certificate

  • Send a certified Minnesota birth or death certificate, ordered from the Office of Vital Records at the Minnesota Department of Health. (source)
  • For a marriage certificate, send a certified Minnesota copy, which you can order from the county where it was filed; keepsake certificates are refused. (source)
  • Minnesota no longer issues long-form birth certificates; the noncertified birth record and the long-form policy memo must each be notarized by a Minnesota notary and are apostilled as separate documents. (source)

Court document (divorce decree, court order)

Minnesota Secretary of State does not say on its page whether this kind of document needs a step first. Ask the office before you mail an original.

Notarized document (power of attorney, affidavit, consent letter, translation)

  • Have a Minnesota notary complete the notarization with the jurisdiction, an acknowledgment statement, title, date, original wet signature and notary stamp, in English. (source)
  • A printout of an electronically notarized document counts as a copy and must be notarized again on paper. (source)

School diploma or transcript

  • Have a Minnesota high school transcript notarized by a Minnesota notary. (source)
  • Have a Minnesota college or university transcript notarized by a Minnesota notary; diplomas (original or photocopy) must be notarized too. (source)

Other state-issued document (business certificate, state background check)

  • For a Minnesota criminal history record, get a notarized letter from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. (source)
  • For a Minnesota business entity, order a certified copy from the Secretary of State first and send it with the request form and fees. (source)
  • For a driver's license or ID card, send a photocopy notarized as a true and correct copy by a Minnesota notary, never the original. (source)

Countries outside the Apostille Convention

Minnesota issues one certificate for every country, in or outside the Apostille Convention.

  • Minnesota issues the same Apostille for countries outside the Hague Convention; ask that country's embassy or consulate what else it needs. (source)
  • For a country outside the Convention, send the state-certified document to the U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications, with Form DS-4194 and the $20 fee per document. (source)

Last, the destination country’s embassy or consulate in the United States legalizes it; ask it about its own steps, fees and timing before you send anything.

What the office will not accept or handle

  • Original documents that come from outside Minnesota. (source)
  • Private documents that are not notarized. (source)
  • Keepsake or souvenir marriage certificates. (source)
  • FBI background checks go to the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C.; the Minnesota office cannot apostille them. (source)

Checked against official sources on October 24, 2026.

What this page does not do

  • It does not file anything. Requests go to Minnesota Secretary of State.
  • It does not cover documents from another state or a federal agency; those go to their own office.
  • It does not list embassy legalization rules for countries outside the Convention.
  • It does not promise processing times; fees and forms change, so check the office's page before you send originals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I get an apostille in Minnesota?

Minnesota Secretary of State issues apostilles for documents issued, recorded or notarized in Minnesota. The fee is $5 per Apostille certificate. Requests can be mailed to the office in Saint Paul. The office also serves people in person; check its page for hours and any appointment rule before going.

How do I apostille a birth certificate from Minnesota?

Send a certified Minnesota birth or death certificate, ordered from the Office of Vital Records at the Minnesota Department of Health. For a marriage certificate, send a certified Minnesota copy, which you can order from the county where it was filed; keepsake certificates are refused. Minnesota no longer issues long-form birth certificates; the noncertified birth record and the long-form policy memo must each be notarized by a Minnesota notary and are apostilled as separate documents. Then send it to Minnesota Secretary of State with the $5 fee.

Does a document notarized in Minnesota need a county clerk certification first?

Have a Minnesota notary complete the notarization with the jurisdiction, an acknowledgment statement, title, date, original wet signature and notary stamp, in English. A printout of an electronically notarized document counts as a copy and must be notarized again on paper.

What if the country is not in the Apostille Convention?

Minnesota issues one certificate for every destination, in or outside the Convention. For a country outside the Convention, send that certificate to the U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications (Form DS-4194, $20 per document), and then to the country's embassy or consulate for legalization.

How do I get an apostille for an FBI background check?

An FBI Identity History Summary is a federal document, so a state office cannot apostille it. The U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications handles it: send Form DS-4194, the document and the $20 fee per document. The form asks for the country where the document will be used.

Do I need a paid apostille service?

No. Every office on this page accepts requests directly from the public by mail, and some take them online. A service can only file the same request with the same office for you.

Sources

Minnesota office checked against official sources on October 24, 2026.

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