Certified Copy: What Apostille Offices Accept

A certified copy is a copy issued and certified by the office that holds the original record. For an apostille, the difference between a certified copy and an ordinary or notarized photocopy is often the difference between acceptance and refusal.

Who issues it

The official sources are specific. New Mexico states that notaries may not make a photocopy of a birth, death or marriage certificate or of a publicly recordable document, and that certified copies of birth and death certificates come only from the State Registrar of Vital Records. Kansas names its Office of Vital Statistics, and Georgia requires an official certified copy from the Department of Community Health, the county probate court or the health department. In West Virginia, certified copies of birth and death certificates are signed by the State Registrar or the clerk of the county commission.

Colorado authenticates only original certified copies issued by the offices it lists. Washington issues an apostille only on an original or certified copy of a vital record, and Oklahoma attaches it to a certified copy of a birth record.

Company records and copies of other documents

Texas apostilles certified copies of business documents on file with the Secretary of State, and Utah requires corporate documents as a certified copy from its Department of Commerce, notarized there. North Carolina accepts a certified copy notarized by the issuing entity, for example for a diploma. In the United Kingdom, a certified copy of a UK document for legalisation must be made by a notary based in the UK.

The table shows each jurisdiction and its source. We translate the apostilled copy into Turkish in Ankara.