North Carolina Apostille Services

Issuing office

North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Authentications DivisionOfficial page

Government fee

$10 per documentIncluded in our price

Hague Convention countries

Apostille

Non-Hague countries

Certificate of Authentication / Certificate of Authority

The state accepts requests by

mail, walk-in and courier

Published processing time

Authentications: 10-15 business days (SOS home page turn-around listing). Mailed documents generally take five business days longer than hand-delivered documents.As listed by the office on October 29, 2026

Documents North Carolina can apostille

• Documents notarized by a North Carolina notary public
• Birth, marriage, and death certificates
• Court documents
• Corporate documents such as articles of incorporation, bylaws, certificates of merger
• Powers of attorney
• Patent applications and trademarks
• Diplomas and school transcripts (notarized by an NC notary)
• Deeds and assignments of interest

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.

North Carolina requirements to check before you book

• Documents generally must be signed before a North Carolina notary, or be certified copies notarized by the issuing entity.Source
• Documents from the Register of Deeds, Clerk of Superior Court, NC Vital Records, NC DHHS, NC Department of Agriculture, NC DMV (Raleigh office), NC Attorney General, and NC Legislative Services need no notarization.Source
• NC school transcripts and diplomas must be notarized by an NC notary; a registrar's school seal alone is not acceptable.Source
• Copies require a notarized 'true copy' affidavit, and non-English documents need a certified or notarized English translation.Source
• Submit a cover letter, payment, the original documents with all certifications attached, and a prepaid return envelope or courier label.Source

Good to know

• Returns to foreign addresses cannot use UPS, FedEx, or DHL; use USPS prepaid envelopes. Handwritten or bill-sender labels are not accepted.
• Certificates of Authentication/Authority (non-Hague) must then be sent to the U.S. Department of State Authentication Office.
• Division manual: cannot authenticate documents from another state or country, or official signatures dated before April 1, 2000.
• Without a prepaid return envelope or label, documents are returned by regular mail to a U.S. address only.

About our North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina Department of the 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

$355 per document.

Prices include the North Carolina 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