When you need an apostille for a U.S. document, the first thing you should know is that there's no single office that handles all apostilles. Depending on the type of document and where it was issued, you may need to contact different authorities.

In the U.S., there are two main apostille authorities:

• State-level documents → the Secretary of State
• Federal-level documents → U.S. Department of State

Six states require an extra step before the Secretary of State will touch a notarised document. Three others route apostilles through a different office entirely. Getting this wrong costs 4–6 weeks, not days.

Most documents, such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, notarized affidavits, educational records, and business filings, are issued at the state level. For most state-issued documents, go directly to the Secretary of State in the state that issued the document not where you currently live, not where you're applying

Below is the state, its designated apostille authority, and the relevant department or office responsible to process apostille:

If a federal agency issued your document or a federal official signed it, it must go to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications in Washington D.C.

Common federal documents include:

• FBI Identity History Summaries (background checks)
• Federal court orders and judgments
• USCIS forms and naturalization certificates
• Consular Reports of Death Abroad
• Any document a federal official signed in their official capacity

Contact info for federal apostilles:

Mail: 

U.S. Department of State

Walk-in service: 

Office of Authentications

Required form: DS-4194 (select "Apostille" for Spain, not "Authentication Certificate")

Always Remember: State offices cannot apostille federal documents. If you send them to a Secretary of State office, you will receive a returned document and lose 3–6 weeks.

State offices only certify signatures they have on file, registrars, notaries, and officials who filed credentials with that state. An FBI agent's signature is filed with the federal government, not any state, so only Washington can verify it. The federal government, the Department of State, has the authority to certify federal signatures and seals.