Call us to Learn More
1-301-605-1500
Do I Need a Certified Birth Certificate?
If you are sending a certified birth certificate overseas, the receiving country typically requires it to be authenticated for international use. If the destination country is part of the 1961 Hague Convention, you will need an apostille. If the destination is not a Hague country, your birth certificate may need to go through embassy or consulate legalization after required authentication steps. You can review WCS’s List of Countries to confirm whether your destination is Hague or non-Hague.
Important note: personal documents such as birth certificates must be apostilled in the state of origin. WCS can guide you on the correct issuing state requirements and manage the process to help avoid delays.
Certified Birth Certificate Services
- A certified birth certificate is a government-issued vital record often required for overseas citizenship, residency, marriage, school enrollment, and other international use cases.
- If your destination is a Hague country, WCS helps obtain the apostille required for acceptance among Hague member nations.
- If your destination is a non-Hague country, WCS can manage the steps required for authentication and embassy or consulate legalization.
Apostille or legalization processing time depends on the document type and where it was issued. WCS’s apostille page notes that general documents (non-federal) are authenticated by a Secretary of State and may take 3 to 5 days (turnaround times vary by state and current processing conditions).
When sending us your certified birth certificate for processing, please remember to:
- Include the original certified birth certificate issued by the proper authority
- Include our WCS Express order confirmation printout or your cover letter and instructions
- Include a prepaid return label (FedEx or UPS preferred) for return shipping. If you prefer, we can ship using our FedEx account and bill the charge on the invoice