Couples planning a wedding abroad often get a list from the local marriage office that includes a birth certificate and some kind of statement that each person is free to marry. The names for that statement vary by country. The apostille questions it raises are mostly the same.
Start with the list from the receiving office
What counts as acceptable is decided by the country where you will marry, and often by the individual office. Before you order anything, get the current document list from that office and ask whether each item needs an apostille. Also ask whether a translation is required, and in what order. Our guide on translation and apostille order covers that.
Two documents, two different routes
The birth certificate and the single-status statement usually take different paths, even though both end up with an apostille.
- Birth certificate: this is a government-issued record. It generally needs to be a certified copy from the vital records office, signed by the official the state apostille office has on file. See our post on which birth certificate copy can be apostilled.
- Single-status statement: if the foreign office accepts a sworn statement from you, that is a private document. You sign it in front of a notary, and the apostille then authenticates the notary’s signature and commission.
Not every country accepts a self-signed statement. Some want a certificate issued by an official body instead. If that is what your destination asks for, the first question is who in the United States can issue it, and the receiving office should be able to tell you what it will accept. Our post on government-issued versus privately signed documents explains why the route matters.
Do not sign before the notary is in front of you
A sworn statement must be signed in the notary’s presence. A pre-signed page cannot be notarized in that form, and an apostille office will not fix it afterward. Bring ID, leave the signature line blank, and sign when the notary tells you to.
Use the wording the foreign office gave you. If it supplied a template, use that template without editing it.
Watch the dates
Marriage offices sometimes want a statement signed or issued recently. The apostille does not refresh the date on the underlying document, so ask what the limit is and what it counts from. Our post on issue-date traps goes through the questions to ask.
Work backward from the wedding date. Ordering a certified birth certificate, getting a notarization, and the apostille step each take their own time.
Names need to line up
If your name on the birth certificate differs from your passport or from the statement, the foreign office may question it. Fix that before the apostille, not after. See what to do when names don’t match.
Check it before you pay
This post covers apostille steps only. It is not legal or immigration advice, and the requirements to marry in any country are set by that country. If you already have your documents and want a second pair of eyes on the signer, the format and the order, our free document review can check them before you order the apostille.