In July 2026 the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s office moved to a universal certificate format, replacing the two separate formats it previously issued: an apostille for Hague Convention destinations and a certificate of authentication for everywhere else.
The practical effect for most people is simple. You no longer choose between two certificate types when submitting a Utah document. What has not changed is the rest of the chain: a document going to a country outside the Convention still needs the further steps at the U.S. Department of State and then that country’s embassy.
Why this trips people up
Two things make Utah unusual, and they compound.
First, Utah has no Secretary of State. Apostilles come from the Lieutenant Governor’s office. Documents addressed to a “Utah Secretary of State” have nowhere to land, and this is the most common Utah mistake we see.
Second, most published guidance about Utah predates the format change and still describes choosing between two certificates. That includes a good deal of what you will find searching today.
What to do
If you are working from instructions given to you before mid-2026, confirm them rather than assuming. If a foreign authority has asked you for a “certificate of authentication” from Utah specifically, the universal certificate is what Utah now issues, and it is worth confirming with them that this satisfies the request.
Our Utah apostille page covers the current process, and we verify requirements with the issuing office before submitting anything.