Pursuant to NRS 240.1657, the Secretary of State's Office Shall

Issue an Authentication to verify that the signature of the State Official is genuine

on documents intended for use in a foreign country

For Authentication of Nevada Secretary of State Commercial Recordings documents

Please contact the Copies Division for procedural instructions at 775-684-5708.

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STANDARD PROCESSING TIME 

4 WEEKS

[Expedited Services Available]

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Beginning August 1, 2013, Nevada adopted the Model Apostille Certificate of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. The Nevada Apostille is a trilingual model certificate published by the Hague Conference and is processed according to the National Uniform Apostille Standards.

The Allonge, or paper certificate of the Apostille, is 8.5 x 11 inches are and is printed in black and white with a non-embossed Nevada State Seal. The only signature found on a Nevada Apostille is the signature of the Secretary of State which will be printed from the official signature on file with this office. The Apostille, will also show the capacity of the public officer Authenticated, stating their title, the date in which the signature was Authenticated, and the Number of the Apostille record.  All Apostilles will be attached by staples to the front of the document page which bears the Public Official’s or Notary Public’s signature. The Apostille will be offset to the left of the signature page and will be accompanied by Nevada’s official state stamp, red in color, placed on the right side of the document (applied split between the allonge and the underlying signature page).

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Nevada is a dual document state.  For documents intended Non-Hague Countries, a certification of signature will be issued in the place of the Apostille.

The Certification will be attached in the same manner as the allonge of the Apostille and will contain the same information described above.

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What Documents or Instruments can I request an Apostille or Certification on?

The Office of Secretary of State provides Authentication of Signatures, Apostille or Certification, for any document which are to be presented to a governing body of a foreign sovereignty.

Examples include:

• Marriage Certificates
• Birth and Death Certificates
• Letters of Eligibility of Marital Status
• Powers of Attorney
• Parental Permission Slips
• Foreign Adoption Papers
• Authorization to Conduct Business in Foreign Countries

 For Authentication of Nevada Secretary of State Commercial Recordings documents

Please contact the Copies Division for procedural instructions at 775-684-5708.

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STEPS TO SUBMIT A REQUEST FOR AUTHENTICATION OF SIGNATURE

Authentication of a Certified Copy of a Nevada Record:

1. First you will need to obtain the certified copy of the Nevada Record from the county, district court, or records office in which the Record is held.

Examples

If you wish to have a divorce decree Authenticated (Apostille / Certification)

You will need to order a certified copies of a divorce decree by contacting the court under whose jurisdiction the divorce was granted. 

If you would like a marriage certificate Authenticated (Apostille / Certification)

Please order a certified copies of your marriage certificate by contacting County Clerk’s Office where the marriage license was issued.  

If you would like a birth certificate Authenticated (Apostille / Certification)

Please order a certified copy of the birth certificate from the state’s office of Vital Records and Statistics

2. Complete, sign and print one Apostille/Certification Order Form. You may use one order form for multiple documents. Any request for an apostille/certification must be accompanied by a  completed Apostille/Certification Order Form and a money order, Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover Card number and expiration date, in the amount of service you are requesting with U.S. currency for each authentication requested. It is necessary to complete the entire request form providing an email address, the name of the country in which the Apostille/Certification will be presented, and a valid return address.  Failure to do so may result in a rejection.

Apostille/Certification Order Form (PDF)

*Shipping labels that designate "Bill to Sender" with the Secretary of State listed as the sender of the document cannot be used. Please use "Bill to Recipient" if applicable. 

*If Shipping is not provided, the request will be returned First-Class Mail International.  Please note this will not include tracking.

*If supplying a self-addressed, prepaid envelope for the return of authenticated documents the return label can have the recipient's address as both the sender (or shipper) and the recipient.

* Please note: if using FedEx as a postal provider, they do not allow handwritten information regarding address information. 

3. Submit the certified copy of the document, one signed and completed Apostille/Certification Order Form, and method of payment to: 

   Nevada Secretary of State
    401 North Carson St.
   Carson City, NV. 89701

OR

Nevada Secretary of State
    2250 Las Vegas Blvd North, Ste 400.
   Las Vegas, NV 89030

Authentication of a Nevada Notarized Document:

1. Obtain a notarization by a Nevada Notary.   

2. Complete, sign and print one Apostille/Certification Order Form. You may use one order form for multiple documents.  Any request for an apostille/certification must be accompanied by a completed Apostille/Certification Order Form and a money order, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover Card number, in the amount of service you are requesting with U.S. currency for each authentication requested. It is necessary to complete the entire request form providing an email address, the name of the country in which the Apostille/Certification will be presented, and a valid return address.  Failure to do so may result in a rejection.

 Apostille/Certification Order Form (PDF)

*Prepaid envelopes with the Secretary of State listed as the return address and instructions to "Bill to Sender" will not be used for return of documents.

*If Shipping is not provided, the request will be returned First-Class Mail International.  Please note this will not include tracking.

*If supplying a self-addressed, prepaid envelope for the return of authenticated documents the return label can have the recipient's address as both the sender (or shipper) and the recipient.

* Please note: if using FedEx as a postal provider, they do not allow handwritten information regarding address information. 

3. Submit the notarized document, one signed and completed Apostille/Certification Order Form, and method of payment to:

   Nevada Secretary of State
    401 North Carson St.
   Carson City, NV. 89701

OR

Nevada Secretary of State
    2250 Las Vegas Blvd North, Ste 400
   Las Vegas, NV. 89030 

All documents are returned by First Class Mail, even if expedited service is requested. If you would like your documents returned using a special handling company please include a pre-paid self addressed mailing envelope.