UPDATED JUNE 04, 2021

Illinois apostilles are issued by the Office of Illinois Secretary of State, Index Department.

Illinois Secretary of State may refuse to issue an apostille if:

(1) the document has not been properly notarized in accordance with the Illinois Notary Public Act (for example if the notary did not include a proper notarial statement, just the signature and a stamp);

(2) the document submitted for an apostille is not an original document (e.g. a plain copy of a vital record, and not a certified copy)

Why can Illinois state refuse to issue an apostille? (continued)

(3) the document is intended for use in the United States. Illinois apostilles have additional language. Above the word "Apostille" it states the name of the country the document is intended for.  At the bottom there is the following phrase: "The Apostille only certifies the signature and the seal it bears. It does not certify contents of the document for which it is issued. THIS APOSTILLE IS NOT VALID WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA."

(4) the document has not been certified by the appropriate authority, if applicable;

(5) the document makes a claim regarding or purports to affect citizenship, immunity, allegiance to a government or jurisdiction, sovereignty, or any similar or related matter;

(6) the Secretary of State has reasonable cause to believe the document may be used to accomplish any fraudulent, criminal, or unlawful purpose. 

Read more about Illinois apostille guidelines and tips.

To avoid delays and possible rejection of your document by Illinois Secretary of State, please email a copy of your document for a free evaluation

Illinois apostille: price, processing time, order form

Apostille Order Form (PDF file)

Our Illinois apostille guarantees:

Not many companies provide this guarantee but we do: if, for some reason, your documents are rejected by the state of Illinois after we assured you that they are acceptable, we will issue a 100% refund, no questions asked. We do not keep any service fees.

We apostille many kinds of documents from Illinois and from all other U.S. states. The most common documents we process for Illinois apostilles and foreign embassies are Illinois birth, marriage, death certificates, divorce records, single status affidavits, criminal records, diplomas and transcripts, corporate documents including articles of incorporation, certificates fo good standing, bylaws and llc agreements, powers of attorney, minutes, resolutions, and many more.

After we have reviewed your documents, in most cases we will ask you to mail the originals to us. Sometimes, documents can be submitted by email or will qualify for our 24-hour apostille service. Please note that 24-hour apostilles are processed in Washington, DC. The price for our 24-hour apostille service is $175.

Processing times differ depending on nature of your documents. In each case will provide the time estimate, and will do our best to meet the deadline.

Delivery by FedEx (2nd day) is included in the price. We also ship internationally. FedEx (2nd day): $20
FedEx (standard overnight): $30 to most countries (except for Eastern Europe and Latin America, which is ).

We accept all kinds of payment, including personal and corporate checks, money orders, credit and debit cards, PayPal, bank transfers, Western Union, and MoneyGram.

Apostilles and embassy legalization procedures are not complicated if you entrust your documents to legalization experts who know the requirements of U.S. apostille agencies, foreign consulates and embassies and the requirements of the receiving organizations in foreign countries.

We process documents for ALL foreign countries. Please call us!