If you have a name change petition or another court document that needs to be used in another country, this is important. The U.S. Department of Justice is no longer authenticating these documents. Sending yours the old way will only cost you time. Here’s how it works now, and how we handle it for you.
What Changed
Until recently, a name change petition or court document that needed federal authentication went to the Department of Justice first, then on to the U.S. Department of State. That step is gone. The DOJ no longer accepts these documents, and much of what you’ll find online still describes the old process. Now the route depends on the country you’re sending the document to.
State Apostille or Federal Authentication: Which Do You Need?
Most people only need a state apostille. A court document from a California court, including a name change petition, gets a California apostille, and that’s accepted in every Hague Convention country. The same goes for other states: a document from a New York court gets New York’s apostille.
You only need federal authentication when your document is going to a country outside the Hague Convention that asks for it. In that case it goes straight to the U.S. Department of State, with no Secretary of State certification first.
Going to a Hague Convention Country
If the country is part of the Hague Apostille Convention (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, South Korea and most of the places our clients deal with), you need a state apostille. For California documents, we usually have those back in 1 to 3 business days. Court orders and divorce decrees work the same way. If your document comes from another state, it gets that state’s apostille, and we handle those too.
Going to a Country Outside the Hague
If your document is headed to the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon or another country outside the Hague Convention, you may have heard the words attestation or legalization instead of apostille.
California can authenticate documents for these countries. If the country specifically needs federal authentication, the document goes directly to the U.S. Department of State. That’s now the only case where the Department of State takes name change petitions and court documents, and the document can’t be more than one year old. If yours is older, give us a call and we’ll walk you through it.
How We Handle It
You get the document to us, in person here in Los Angeles or by mail from anywhere, and we take care of the rest, including the translation if the country needs one. Tell us where your document is going, and we’ll make sure it gets the right authentication the first time.
Common Questions
Does the Department of Justice still authenticate name change petitions?
No. The DOJ has stopped accepting them.
Do I need a federal apostille for my name change petition?
Usually not. If it’s going to a Hague Convention country, a state apostille from the state where the court is located is what you need.
When do I need federal authentication?
Only when your document is going to a country outside the Hague Convention that asks for it. Then it goes directly to the U.S. Department of State.
How old can my court document be?
For federal authentication through the U.S. Department of State, no more than one year old. For a state apostille, it depends on the state.
Get Started
If you have a court document headed overseas, talk to us before you send it anywhere. Call or text us at 310-526-0200, tell us what document you have and where it’s going, and we’ll make sure it goes the right way the first time.
