Apostille Texas: Fast, Local Apostille Service
Hand-filed in person at the Texas Secretary of State in Austin.
✓ Rush: 1–3 business days
✓ Standard: about a week
What Is an Apostille?
By Albert Lee, commissioned Texas notary public and apostille agent · Updated October 2026
An apostille is a certificate from the Texas Secretary of State confirming that the signature and seal on a Texas document are real, so a foreign government will accept it. Texas issues a “universal apostille” for every country. Countries outside the Hague Apostille Convention also require a U.S. Department of State authentication and embassy legalization.
It doesn’t translate your document or vouch for what it says. It verifies the official who signed it, whether that’s a county clerk, a state registrar or a notary public.
Every Texas apostille comes from one office: the Texas Secretary of State in Austin. You can mail your documents in and wait about two weeks, or drive three hours and stand in line. Or you can call us. We’re a commissioned Texas notary and apostille service based in Katy. We check your document, notarize it if it needs it, hand-file it in person with the Secretary of State, and get it back to you or ship it wherever it’s going.
Watch Our Introduction Video
Watch our instructional video about apostilles and the work that goes into getting them to the Secretary of State.
How Do I Get a Document Apostilled in Texas?
- Confirm the document is from Texas. It must be issued by a Texas state, county or city office, or notarized by a Texas notary.
- Get an original or certified copy of public records like birth or marriage certificates, issued within the past five years.
- Notarize private documents like powers of attorney, affidavits and diploma copies in front of a Texas notary.
- Fill out Form 2102 and name the country where the document will be used.
- Submit it to the Texas Secretary of State in Austin by mail, in person, or through an apostille service.
- Receive the apostille attached to your document, then send it on to the foreign agency.
That’s the whole process. Where it goes wrong is steps 1 through 3, and that’s where most of our work happens.
Why Use Our Service?
Fast
Rush apostilles in 1–3 business days. Standard service in about a week.
Convenient
We meet you around Katy and Houston, or you mail us the document.
Handled With Care
We hand-file every document in person in Austin. It never sits in a mail pile.
Why Clients Use Us
Notary and Apostille Agent
If a notarization is the problem, we fix it and file the same document. No one else touches it in between.
We Check Before We File
A wrong notarial certificate or an old certified copy is the most common reason the state rejects a document. We catch it first.
Local to Katy and West Houston
You're dealing with a person, not a mail-in form. Text us a photo and we'll tell you what your document needs.
How Our Apostille Service Works
Review
Call or text a photo of your document. We check who issued it, when, and which country it’s going to, so you know it’s ready before you hand anything over.
Meet
We come to you anywhere around Katy, Cinco Ranch, Fulshear and Houston, or you mail us the original. If it needs a notary, we notarize it on the spot.
File
We prepare the request form and hand-file your document in person at the Secretary of State’s Authentications Unit in Austin.
Return
We hand-deliver your apostilled document or ship it to you, or straight to the embassy, school or agency that asked for it.
Recordable vs. Non-Recordable Documents
The Secretary of State sorts every document into one of two groups, and the group decides what you need to bring.
Recordable documents are public records issued by a state or county official: birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, probated wills, court judgments and state background checks. You need the original or a certified copy from the issuing office, issued within the past five years. A notary can’t fix these. See how to apostille a Texas birth certificate.
Non-recordable documents are everything that isn’t filed with a government office: powers of attorney, affidavits, consent letters, contracts, diplomas, transcripts, passport copies and translations. These get apostilled through a Texas notarization, and for some copies, like a diploma, a Texas notary can make a certified copy. See how to apostille a diploma or transcript.
Most rejections come from mixing these up. Someone gets a photocopy of a birth certificate notarized, and the state sends it back.
Documents We Apostille Most Often
Travel Consent
Consent letters for a child traveling abroad with one parent
Vital Records
Birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates
Power of Attorney
Powers of attorney and affidavits for property, banking or family matters abroad
Adoption Papers
Adoption paperwork, filed with the state’s adoption request form
School Records
Diplomas and transcripts for teaching, studying or working overseas
Business Documents
Contracts, company records and employment letters
Can a Notary Do an Apostille in Texas?
No. A notary public can’t issue an apostille in Texas. Only the Texas Secretary of State can. What a notary does is notarize the document correctly so the state will accept it. As notaries and apostille agents, we handle both parts: the notarization and the in-person filing with the Secretary of State.
Watch for anyone advertising as a “notario público.” In Texas that title is a red flag, and the Secretary of State rejects documents where a notary acted outside their authority.
What If Your Country Isn't in the Hague Convention?
Texas still issues the same universal apostille. Then your document goes to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C., and after that to the destination country’s embassy or consulate for legalization. The UAE, Qatar and Vietnam are common examples.
The list changes, too. Canada joined the Apostille Convention in January 2024, so documents headed to Canada now need only the apostille. Check before you assume. More on apostille vs. authentication.
Can an Online Notarized Document Be Apostilled?
Yes, if a Texas notary performed the online notarization. The Secretary of State requires the notary’s ledger record for the signing and a notarial certificate stating the document was notarized by two-way audio and visual communication. One catch: some countries won’t accept online notarizations, even with an apostille. Ask the receiving agency first.
This is handy if you’re out of state or overseas and need a Texas power of attorney. We do this through our online notary service. Details: can an online notarized document be apostilled?
Documents Texas Can't Apostille
- Federal documents, like an FBI background check or an IRS letter, go to the U.S. Department of State.
- Documents from other states must be apostilled by that state.
- Documents for use inside the U.S. Texas only apostilles documents headed abroad.
- Photocopies of public records, even notarized ones.
If yours falls in one of these, we’ll tell you where it needs to go.
Our Apostille Blog Posts
Texas Secretary of State Apostille Walk-In: Days, Hours and Tips
Texas Secretary of State apostille walk-ins are Monday and Friday only. Here’s how appointments, the ten-document limit, payment and parking work at the Austin office.
How to Apostille a Texas Marriage Certificate
How to get a Texas apostille on a marriage certificate: which county record the Secretary of State accepts, the five-year rule, translations, and marriages from outside Texas.
How to Apostille a Power of Attorney in Texas (for Use Abroad)
How to get a Texas apostille on a power of attorney for use abroad: what the Secretary of State checks, what gets rejected, translation and online-notarization notes.
Can an Online Notarized Document Be Apostilled?
This question combines two of our favorite services, so I get it a lot. Someone needs a power of attorney
How to Apostille a Diploma or Transcript in Texas
If you’re planning to teach English overseas, go to grad school abroad, or get a work visa, you’re probably going
Apostille vs Authentication: What If Your Country Isn’t in the Hague Convention?
A lot of people call asking for an apostille when what they actually need is an authentication. They sound the
Get a quote for your Texas apostille
Answer a few questions about your document and destination country. We check it will be accepted, then send one all-in price.
FAQ
Only the Texas Secretary of State’s Authentications Unit in Austin. A notary, county clerk or apostille service can’t issue one. We prepare your document, hand-file it and bring it back. More here: who issues apostilles in Texas.
Texas public records (birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates, court records, probated wills) and private documents notarized by a Texas notary (powers of attorney, affidavits, diplomas, transcripts, contracts and translations).
Not of a public record. Birth certificates and other recordable documents need an original or certified copy. Some private documents, like a diploma, can be apostilled as a copy certified by a Texas notary.
No. That’s what we’re for. You meet us locally or mail us the document, and we hand-file it with the Secretary of State.
The document (or a photo of it so we can review it), the country it’s going to and your deadline. If it needs notarizing, bring a valid driver’s license, state ID or U.S. passport.
Yes. Rush service is 1–3 business days.
No. Texas issues every apostille from a single location, the Secretary of State’s Authentications Unit at 400 W. 15th Street in Austin. No other city, Houston included, has an office that can issue one. For Houston-area clients, we pick up the document, file it in Austin, and bring the finished apostille back to you.
Yes, if you go to Austin in person. The Secretary of State takes walk-ins on Mondays and Fridays and will complete up to 10 documents the same day. Requests sent by mail take roughly two weeks. If a trip to Austin doesn’t work for you, our rush service typically returns Texas documents in 1–3 business days.
Our team
Aimani Lawless
Owner
Texas notary public, specializes in title packages and real estate documents via RON. Design lead.
Albert Lee
Owner
Mobile and online notary commissioned for the State of Texas. Owner and creator of Lee’s Mobile and Online Notary. Apostille Agent
How Long Does an Apostille Take in Texas?
Rush service takes 1–3 business days. Standard service takes about one week. If you mail documents to the Secretary of State yourself, plan on up to two weeks of processing plus mailing time each way. Getting a new certified copy or a notarization first can add a day or two. Full breakdown: how long it takes to get an apostille in Texas.
If you’re up against a visa appointment or a flight, tell us the date when you call. We’ll work backward from it.
Apostille Service in Houston, Katy and Fulshear
We’re based in Katy and meet clients across west Houston, including Cinco Ranch, Fulshear and Sugar Land. Clients anywhere in Texas can mail us their documents.
Need a notary for something else? We also offer mobile notary service around Katy and Houston and online notarization from anywhere.
Ready to get your apostille? Call or text 832-741-3190. Tell us the document, the country and your deadline, and we’ll tell you exactly what it needs.