How to Apostille an NYC Marriage certificate without going to NYC

Posted by No_Seaworthiness_393@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 14 comments

Hey guys,

If you got married in NYC and need to send an official marriage certificate for recognition abroad (e.g. for a visa), it's a huge pain in the ass. I didn't see a lot of documentation for how to do this without having to fly to NYC, so I figured I'd write something up.

First here is the general process in 2025:
1. Obtain an Marriage certificate (the extended form) from the City Clerk records office. You can do this by mail request, or in person by appointment, but not online.

  1. Once you have the certificate, get it authenticated by the County Clerk. This can be done in person or by mail.

  2. Once authenticated by the County Clerk, you get it apostilled by the NY Department of State. Again, this can be done in person or by mail.

Doing the process in person

If done in person, it's no big deal. I did it a few years ago, and think I managed to do it all in a day. The only roadblock is that nowadays you need an appointment for the City Clerk, which can take a few weeks to get.

Doing the process remotely

If you can't do it in person, it's kind of annoying. You also have several options.

  1. You could do everything by mail. I estimate would take about 12 weeks with all the back-and-forths.

  2. You can have a friend in New York get the appointment and do the process for you. In order for them to get your marriage certificate, you'll have to fill out an authorization form and get it notarized to take with them. There's a sample auth form on the City Clerk website, virtual notary is fine. In total, this route should take 2-4 weeks to get an appointment (you can check for appointment availability on NYC cupid) + 1-3 days to get the apostille.

  3. If you don't have a friend, you can pay a service to do it for you. I got a couple quotes. The process is the same as #2, but it'll cost a few hundred bucks.

  4. UPS Nassau (the branch that's on 82 Nassau St) quoted me $370. They will ship abroad (I needed it for Portugal) for an extra $120

  5. TGM Global quoted me at $335. They will ship abroad (seems liked anywhere flat) for an extra $85.
  6. I'll update this post if any of the other firms I reached out to get back to me. I ended up choosing UPS Nassau, becuase they were instantly responsive and they've been a life-saver for me several times in my expat schenanigans. Can't say enough great things about UPS Nassau, they'll do literally anything.