NOTARY · APOSTILLE · SIGNING

Federal Apostille (U.S. Department of State)

Federal authentication at the U.S. Department of State — prepared from Maryland, minutes from DC

In Short

A handful of American documents belong to no state at all. An FBI Identity History Summary, an FDA or USDA certificate, a paper signed by a federal official or issued by a federal court — none of these can carry a state apostille, because no state created them. Their path runs through the Office of Authentications at the U.S. Department of State, the process everyone calls federal apostille.

Working out of Maryland, a short drive from Washington DC, RL Notary prepares these files end to end. The packet is audited before it moves — a federal document issued in the wrong format is the classic reason the Department sends work back — the DS-4194 request form is completed line by line, and the submission is followed until the authentication certificate comes back attached and the originals are in your hands again.

What Is Included

FBI Identity History Summaries for overseas visas, jobs and adoptions
Agency documents — FDA, USDA, DOJ, EPA and more
Federal court records and papers bearing federal signatures
A pre-flight review aimed at avoiding Department of State returns
Filed and followed up from the Maryland side of Washington DC

At a Glance

Monday–Sunday · 7:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Maryland Coverage
English · Russian · Hebrew · Spanish
You approve a written, itemized figure before anyone drives anywhere. No figure changes afterwards.

☎ (202) 899-0067

Frequently Asked Questions

State or federal — how do I know which apostille I need?

Look at who issued the paper. A state-issued document is apostilled by that state; anything created by the federal government goes to the U.S. Department of State. Mailing one to the other's office is the most common way people lose a month.

How long does the Department of State take?

Federal queues rise and fall with the Office of Authentications' workload, so no honest promise can be made — but at booking you receive the realistic current estimate, and updates continue while your file is inside.

The FBI emailed my background check. Is that version usable?

Possibly, but the Department treats the FBI's delivery formats differently, and only some are accepted for authentication. Forward what the Bureau sent you; we will tell you plainly whether it files as-is or whether a different copy must be ordered first.