Apostille for New York Birth Certificate

Posted by DeliriousDancer@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 30 comments

We live in California, but my husband was born in NY. We need to get his birth certificate apostilled but from the NY State website it looks like you first have to get the birth certificate notarized by a NY County Clerk and then you can apply for apostille. Is that correct? How are we supposed to do that from California? Do we really have to fly to NY for this?

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Future_Elephant_9294@reddit

Birth certificates from NY must go through a 2-stage process to be apostilled. Thankfully it can all be done via mail.

Step 1 is local level certification. This is done by the county which issued the document. You locate the county office which issued the record and file a certification request to them. The only exception to this is documents issued directly at the state level, so double check the issuing authority.

Step 2 is the state level apostille. After the document is returned with a local level certification it is sent back out to the state level Department of State in Albany, NY. This is the process you most likely saw in your own research.

Notarizations are only relevant towards apostilles for documents that aren't issued by the government, such as Power of Attorneys. Then, you would request an apostille from the state that the notary was registered in, the part you read was about documents notarized in NY by a NY notary.

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DeliriousDancer@reddit (OP)

Thank you!

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ceramic_ocarina@reddit

Just went through this. Getting the local level authentication took only about 1 week round trip via mail, and the state took only about another week. What took FOREVER (months) was getting the actual birth certificate in the first place, which was ordered through VitalCheck (but I do think that is the fastest method).

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therelaxedbear@reddit

I had the opposite experience - my birth certificate arrived pretty quickly from VitalChek.

I’m shocked you had such a quick turnaround on the certification. It took almost one month to receive a response from the county clerk that they didn’t accept my personal check for my verification request. It’s been almost 2 weeks since I resubmitted my request and I still haven’t received a response.

I’m so glad I started this process months in advance of my move. What a headache.

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ceramic_ocarina@reddit

Oof. I’m sorry. For these sorts of things I always suggest sending postal money orders. Annoying, because those cost money, but then county clerks can’t decide not to accept them. You might suggest to them that you could send a USPS money order if they’ll return or destroy your original personal check?

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therelaxedbear@reddit

Thanks for the reply. I’ve never done a USPS money order. I got a cashier’s check from my bank and resubmitted. Hopefully, that works, but if not, I’ll do your suggestion.

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ceramic_ocarina@reddit

Hope it works for you, too! I prefer USPS money orders. For one thing they’re typically cheaper than cashier’s checks and they’re also government backed and not private. Just seems more efficient for the clerks. But what do I know

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DeliriousDancer@reddit (OP)

If I already have a birth certificate, can I just send that to the local authentication place and skip ordering a new one?

So am I understanding correctly that you had to order a copy of the birth certificate, have them mail that to you. Then mail that certificate back to NY for the local authentication and have them mail that back to you. And THEN mail it again for the apostille, and wait for that to get mailed back to you? That seems craaaaazy.

Also, can you tell me how to find the local authentication place to mail it to? Thanks so much!

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ceramic_ocarina@reddit

You are correct on the process. Each time it goes in the mail, it goes to a different office.

So much depends on what body issued the certificate in the first place. There are specific rules for New York City, for example, requiring not just the birth certificate but also a letter of exemplification. Where is your birth certificate from?

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DeliriousDancer@reddit (OP)

It's from Manhattan I believe they do require a Letter of Exemplification, which I guess means I have to order a new birth certificate. I'm concerned about that since you said it takes such a long time and we were hoping to submit all of our paperwork in the next couple of weeks.

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ceramic_ocarina@reddit

Do you have the original original certificate? Or is it a certified copy?

If you have the super duper original one, you could try calling the county clerk for New York County and seeing if what you have will suffice. It might, I honestly don’t know.

Otherwise, yes, I believe you’ll need a letter of exemplification, which to the best of my understanding will require ordering a new copy via VitalCheck (making sure to specify that it’s for an apostille on your application, so they send you the long form and a letter of exemplification)

It took ME a long time to get my copy through VitalCheck because I was ordering an old certificate (1950s) and the hospital no longer exists etc…if it’s a more modern certificate it would likely get to you much faster.

Please understand I’m not a rep for the gov’t in this area, just speaking from personal experience. I’d call the NY County Clerk and ask.

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DeliriousDancer@reddit (OP)

I know it will be individual but I really appreciate hearing about your experience.

The one we have is the original but it's also from the 1950s from a hospital that no longer exists. But that's a good idea to call - I'll do that. Thanks so much!

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netllama@reddit

What did they say when you called (i'm in a similar situation) ?

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ceramic_ocarina@reddit

If you do have the original, it might suffice. Def call, and good luck!

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Juan_Cuevas1@reddit

You'll have to purchase a new birth certificate and request a letter of exemplification.

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bucktoothedhazelnut@reddit

Since you’re in the U.S., try this site. It MIGHT work.

I used it multiple times before I moved countries.

https://vitalchek.com/v/birth-certificates

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mattyofurniture@reddit

New York VitalChek takes at least 6 months. They’re incredibly behind.

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therelaxedbear@reddit

Mine didn’t take that long.

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bucktoothedhazelnut@reddit

Oomph. Yeah, that’s why it was a big “might”…

Glad you can give real info for the state, thank you!

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Capybarely@reddit

Naive on this, and I hope someone who knows won't mind me tagging on to this thread. My husband was also born in New York State. Given the backlog, is there any harm in filing for an apostilled birth certificate to have for our records? My perception is that it's a "more is better" validation, and wouldn't cause conflicts with other paperwork. But if that's not true I don't want to do more than necessary or mess things up.

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Apprehensive-Yak7874@reddit

To obtain authentication or an apostille, you have to know what country it will be sent to. So you can't get a "general purpose" one.

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Capybarely@reddit

Thank you! Even the federal and state websites did not make that clear.

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glirette@reddit

That's not entirely correct

Most states don't care what the destination country actually is and it's written no where on the document

The purpose of asking that question mainly is so that the state or federal government issues the correct document type, meaning an Apostille versus just an authentication

In fact while I don't suggest people do this, sovereign citizens will just make up a non Hauge Apostille convention country to obtain a certificate so that the can misrepresent the purpose

I don't see it as a huge harm is you say it's for Italy but it's actually for Spain, in most cases

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NYCweddingofficiant@reddit

I offer that service in you need. I often do it for my clients. https://www.instagram.com/corinnejox?igsh=MTZqb2o2dGd6bHliMQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

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dmama1314@reddit

I am not sure why you need it apostilled. BUt if you do, https://www.docutrek.com/contact/

John texted within 30 mins of getting my contact info. We chatted on a Saturday evening. Sent four certificates and letters of exemplification to be apostilled in Queens.

I sent them on a THursday, he got them on a Tuesday and I received them back on a Saturday. $270. Most of that is his time. But worth every penny.

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DeliriousDancer@reddit (OP)

Thank you!

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rosstafarien@reddit

You request the documents, then send them to the New York Sec State for the apostille. You can also hire an agent for the apostille step who will walk them through in person, for a fee. Cost us about $700 to have an agent get an apostille on two California birth certificates (from Washington).

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Send off for city birth certificate.
Send off for county authentication.
Send off for state apostille.

You need to include a SASE and payment in each one, usually.