Kentucky Apostille Services

Issuing office

Office of the Kentucky Secretary of State (Office of Business Services, Records Section)Official page

Government fee

$5 per documentIncluded in our price

Hague Convention countries

Apostille

Non-Hague countries

Authentication

The state accepts requests by

mail, walk-in and online request (e-Apostille portal)

Published processing time

Mail: completed within 3 business days, returned by USPS First Class. Walk-in: completed while you wait. Electronic: issued as a PDF by email (no time stated).As listed by the office on October 29, 2026

Documents Kentucky can apostille

• Certified vital records bearing the current State Registrar's signature
• Paper documents notarized by a Kentucky notary and certified by the County Clerk
• Electronically notarized PDFs from an authorized Kentucky online notary
• County Clerk records
• Circuit/District Court records certified by the County Clerk
• School records (notarized and county-certified)
• Kentucky State Police criminal background checks (notarized)

The issuing state is what matters, not where you live now. A document issued or notarized in another state goes to that state's office, and documents from federal agencies go to the U.S. Department of State through our federal apostille service.

Kentucky requirements to check before you book

• Vital records must bear the signature of the current State Registrar; certified copies come from the Office of Vital Statistics.Source
• Paper notarized documents: the notary's signature must be certified by the County Clerk in the county where the notary is registered.Source
• Circuit/District Court records must first be submitted to the corresponding County Clerk for certification of the Circuit Clerk's signature.Source
• Electronically notarized documents need no County Clerk certification but must be submitted through the online e-Apostille portal.Source

Good to know

• Kentucky uses a single certificate for Apostille and Authentication.
• Administrative Office of the Courts background checks cannot be apostilled or authenticated; FBI checks go to the U.S. Department of State.
• Kentucky State Police background checks must be requested notarized, then county-certified.
• An Affidavit of True Copy may be used for documents that cannot otherwise be notarized; confirm the receiving embassy accepts it.

About our Kentucky apostille service

How it works

1. Book onlineChoose the option that matches your document and destination, then tell us the document type, the country where it will be used, and your deadline.
2. We review your document firstBefore anything is filed, we check it against the Kentucky requirements on this page. If a step is missing, such as a notarization or a certified copy, we tell you what's needed before we file.
3. Send your original or meet a notaryWe send mailing instructions after you book. If your document still needs to be signed and notarized, one of our mobile notaries can meet you, or you can use remote online notarization where it's accepted.
4. We file and track itWe submit your request to the Office of the Kentucky Secretary of State with the government fee and follow it until the office releases it.
5. We ship it backYour documents come back by tracked shipping. If your destination also needs embassy legalization or a certified translation, we can handle that next.

Pricing

$350 per document.

Prices include the Kentucky state fee, courier filing, return shipping, and handling. Sales tax is added at checkout where it applies, and any deposit is shown before you pay. If you have more than one document, tell us the count when you book and we'll confirm your total.

Government processing times are set by the issuing office and change during the year. We don't promise a delivery date that depends on a government office, and we'll tell you the current timing when we review your order.

Common questions

Working with Trilogy

Related services

Sources