When seeking an apostille or authentication certificate for your court documents issued in Virginia (e.g. local petition for name change, divorce decree, etc.), government officials may request you provide a Certification of Official Record/Triple Seal two page document (VA Code 8.01-389 and 8.01-391) .
Many clients ask if they can have their court documents issued in Virginia (or other states in the US) apostilled, so as to make them eligible to be used overseas. The answer is definitely yes.
However many of them fail to get correct and satisfactory certified copies of the court documents, so the apostille requests are being rejected constantly.
1. What kind of certified copy of a court document will be regarded as acceptable?
Here is what the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth requires for a court document.
A Court Record, the document cannot be notarized and must be issued from the appropriate Virginia Circuit Court within the past 12 months. Circuit Court documents should contain a Certification of Official Record/Triple Seal two page document (VA Code 📜8.01-389 and 📜8.01-391) The date must be reflected on the document in addition to the signature and printed name of the (Deputy) Clerk of Court.
It's easy to capture the gist. Use the checklist below to find out whether or not your court document is satisfied.
🔘 It cannot be notarized by any notary,
🔘 It must be an original certified copy (not a photocopy or a digital copy)
🔘 It must be issued from the appropriate Virginia Circuit Court,
🔘 It must be issued within the past 12 months (date must be reflected),
🔘 It must contain either a Certification of Official Record, or Triple Seal two page document, 🔘 It must bear the signature of the (Deputy) Clerk of Court, and
🔘 It must have the printed name of the (Deputy) Clerk of Court.
2. What does a certified copy (a Certification of Official Record) look like?
Here is a sample of a Certification of Official Record from a Virginia Circuit Court.
3. How to get an Apostille for this court document?
The apostille of the court documents in Virginia should be processed by the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Step 1. Request a certified copy of your court document from the appropriate circuit court in Virginia (as we mentioned above).
Step 2. Order the Apostille Service online
Fees: $186.00 per personal document or $236.00 per business document
Processing Time: 1-2 weeks (estimated, cannot be expedited, does not include the mailing time)
💰 Total cost: $186.00 or $236.00 + Shipping
* We ship domestically and internationally but clients should be responsible for the shipping costs. You may choose the shipping method at the check-out page.
Step 3. Mail the document
Please mail us the original certified copy you received from the court. Photocopies are not accepted.
📮 Mailing Address
American Notary Service Center
7512 Diplomat Drive, Suite 101,
Manassas, VA 20109
That’s all. We’ll take care of the whole process and mail the documents to the address you left to us once the apostille is completed.
The apostille and authentication process can be complicated. If you don't want to spend a lot of time and energy getting into it, your best bet is to let a professional do it for you. Once we receive your order and document, it'll be processed as soon as possible.
Besides court documents from Virginia, we also provide apostille, authentication, and embassy legalization services for other personal documents and corporate documents issued in 50 states and DC.
American Notary Service Center Inc. provides fair, fast, confidential, and professional document notarization and certification services for our clients. We also provide various assistance services to small businesses led by socially and economically disadvantaged groups. Our service helps small businesses obtain federal government contracts, gain a foothold in the market, and boost their sales. For more information, please visit our website at www.usnotarycenter.com, and contact us by calling 202-599-0777 or by email at info@usnotarycenter.com.