Terms of Service

1. Service Description

US Federal Apostille is a private document filing service. We accept federally issued documents, such as FBI background checks, letters from federal agencies (including the IRS, FDA, USDA, USPTO, and SSA), federal court documents, and federally notarized documents, and we hand deliver them to the U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications in Washington, DC, on your behalf. The Office of Authentications either issues an apostille (for documents going to Hague Convention member countries) or an authentication certificate (for documents going to non Hague countries). Once the federal step is complete, we ship your documents back to you.

We do not process state issued documents, such as state vital records or state notarized documents. That is a separate category of service that we do not offer.

2. Not Affiliated With Any Government Agency

US Federal Apostille is an independent, privately owned company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or part of the U.S. Department of State, any federal agency, any embassy, or any other government body. We act only as a filing and courier intermediary for the convenience of our customers.

3. Customer Responsibilities

By submitting an order, you agree that you are responsible for the following:

• Providing documents that are eligible for federal apostille or authentication.
• Confirming, to the best of your knowledge, whether the destination country is a Hague Convention member, since this determines whether an apostille or an authentication is the correct request.
• Not adding a notarization to a document after it was issued if that document requires an authentication, since an improperly timed or unnecessary notarization can void the authentication and delay or invalidate your order.
• Completing any embassy or consular legalization step required for non Hague countries after we return your authenticated documents to you.
• Providing accurate shipping information and reviewing your order before submission.

4. Processing Times

Processing time begins once your documents physically arrive at our receiving address, not on the date of purchase or shipment. Typical federal processing runs from about 5 to 12 business days depending on the service level selected. We do not control, and are not responsible for, carrier transit times on the way to us or on the way back to you.

5. Limitation of Liability

You are responsible for maintaining copies of your documents where possible. While we take reasonable care in handling, packaging, and shipping original documents, we are not insurers of your documents. To the fullest extent permitted by law, our liability for any loss, delay, or damage to an original document is limited to the fees paid for the order in question. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from delays at government offices, shipping carriers, or embassy processing that is outside our control.

6. Payment

Orders are paid in full at checkout through our payment processor. See our Refund Policy for details on cancellations and non refundable costs.

7. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms of Service from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of our service after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

8. Contact

Questions about these terms can be sent to help@usfederalapostille.org or 202-202-9433, or by mail to 712 H Street NE, Suite 1306, Washington, DC 20002.