Apostille General Information

​​​Apostilles are certificates issued by the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) to authenticate the signatures of public officials and notaries public on certain types of documents issued in Wisconsin to be used outside the United States of America.

Some examples of documents DFI may authenticate by issuing an apostille include: birth certificates, adoption papers, marriage licenses, corporate documents, school transcript records and trademarks.

Apostilles may be issued for documents issued in one country, for use in another country, but only if both countries are parties to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. See the list of participating countries (known as “contracting parties”) here​, and check the Entry into Force column (EIF). Please note that the effect of an apostille is limited. It does not certify the authenticity of the contents of the underlying document - it attests only to the authenticity of the signature or seal of the person or authority that signed or sealed the public document, as well as the capacity in which the person signing or sealing the document acted.

Note: Apostilles should not be issued by a U.S. state for use in the United States or in U.S. territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

To obtain an Apostille from the DFI, you will need to submit the original or certified documents along with a request form (one form per country) and payment. Please review the materials under the "Resources" heading to get started.