DECEMBER 18, 2016

How do you prepare your notarized documents for Virginia apostilles or authentication (Great Seal)? The most important requirement: your documents must be properly notarized by a Virginia notary within the past 12 months! If your document is older than 12 months, it will be rejected. If your document is not properly notarized, it will be rejected. Based on experience, here are some common errors that can cause the notarized documents to be rejected for Virginia apostilles.

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Why would a document be rejected for a Virginia apostille?

Each Virginia Notary Public has taken an oath of office, in part, stating that he or she will follow a specific set of guidelines when notarizing documents. A notarized document can be rejected by the apostille issuing agency for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to:

1. not having a proper acknowledgement on each document presented (notarial statement must reflect what is being notarized. i.e. – signature(s) or true copy of an original);
2. the State and city/county where the document is being executed is not indicated;
3. the notary’s registration number is either missing or incorrect;
4. the notary’s expiration date is either missing or incorrect;
5. the notary stamp or seal is either missing or incorrect;
6. the notary did not sign his/her name on notarized document;
7. notarization or issue date on the document is more than 12 months old;
8. document is not dated; and
9. the acknowledgement must be in English.

To avoid delay in processing, be sure to look over your documents before submitting them for apostilles to verify all information is accurate and present.

Sample Virginia notarial statements:

Certificate of Acknowledgment:

Certified Copy of an Original:

 Jurat:

 Read more about Virginia apostille guidelines and tips.

Not sure if your document qualifies for a Virginia apostille? Email a copy of your document for a free evaluation

Virginia apostille: price, processing time, order form

Apostille Order Form (PDF file)

Our Virginia apostille guarantees:

Not many companies provide this guarantee but we do: if, for some reason, your documents are rejected by the state 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 Virginia and from all other U.S. states. The most common documents we process for Virginia apostilles and foreign embassies are VA 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.

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!