Texas Apostille Service
Apostilles for documents issued in Texas, handled from Wichita. We check your document before you pay a dollar.
APB Notary & Apostille processes apostilles for documents issued in Texas through the Texas Secretary of State, Authentications Unit in Austin. The state fee is $15 per document; mailed requests: the state currently says up to 25 business days from receipt, longer in peak season. In person in Austin: same day for up to 10 documents. Our own service fee is quoted separately, starting at $299 for the first document, and we review your document for free before anything is sent. Call 316-265-9930 or email scans to admin@apbnotary.com.
Texas apostille: the facts
| Issuing office | Texas Secretary of State, Authentications Unit Mail: Authentications Unit, 1019 Brazos Street, Austin, TX 78701. In person: 400 W. 15th Street, Austin (same-day, up to 10 documents per visit). Older guides list P.O. Box 12887, Austin, TX 78711. The street address above is what the Authentications Unit currently publishes for mail. |
|---|---|
| State fee | $15 per document. $10 per apostille for adoption proceedings, capped at $100 per child. |
| State processing time | Mailed requests: the state currently says up to 25 business days from receipt, longer in peak season. In person in Austin: same day for up to 10 documents. |
| How the state accepts requests | Mail with a completed request form and payment, or walk in at 400 W. 15th Street for same-day service on small batches. |
| Request form | Texas SOS apostille request form |
| Vital records come from | Texas Department of State Health Services, Vital Statistics, or the issuing county clerk |
| Official source | Texas SOS: Apostille / Authentication of Documents (checked September 2026) |
State fees and processing times are set by the Texas SOS and change without notice. We confirm the current figures when we quote your job, and we list the state fee and our fee as two separate lines.
What the Texas SOS will and won’t apostille
- Recordable documents (birth, death, marriage, divorce decrees, probated wills, judgments) must be certified copies less than five years old.
- Non-recordable documents (affidavits, diplomas, transcripts, licenses, powers of attorney) need a signed statement summarizing the document, notarized by a Texas notary with a complete certificate.
- Texas county clerks certify their own records; the SOS then apostilles the clerk’s certification.
Texas documents we handle most
- Texas birth and death certificates (certified, under five years old)
- Marriage licenses from any of the 254 county clerks
- Divorce decrees and judgments from Texas district courts
- Diplomas and transcripts, notarized by a Texas notary
- Powers of attorney notarized by a Texas notary
- Certificates of Fact and formation documents from the Texas SOS
How it works from Wichita
- Send us a photo or scan first. Email admin@apbnotary.com or bring it to 1901 E. 21st Street North. We check that it’s the right kind of copy, the notarization is complete, and it’s headed for the right office. Free.
- We quote the total. State fee, our tier, and shipping, itemized. You approve before anything moves.
- We prepare the request. Texas SOS apostille request form, cover letter, payment, and prepaid return shipping so the Texas SOS has no reason to set it aside.
- The state issues the apostille. Mailed requests: the state currently says up to 25 business days from receipt, longer in peak season. In person in Austin: same day for up to 10 documents.
- You get it back. Pickup at 21st & Grove, or we ship to you or straight to the receiving party overseas.
Where Texas documents usually go
Mexico by a wide margin, then Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador (all Hague members now). Vietnam and the UAE are not Hague members and require authentication plus embassy legalization.
A note from our side of the counter
Texas is the largest out-of-state apostille source we handle, almost always headed for Mexico or Central America. The 25-business-day mail window is the thing people don’t expect; if your deadline is inside that, tell us on day one so we can route for in-person same-day service in Austin instead.
What we can’t do
We can’t apostille a document the Texas SOS won’t accept, and we won’t pretend otherwise. We can’t speed up the state’s clock; our tiers speed up ours. We’re not attorneys and can’t tell you whether a foreign authority will accept a given document, though we’ll tell you what we’ve seen work. If your document is federal (FBI, USCIS, IRS, FDA), it goes to the U.S. Department of State instead, and we route it there.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Texas apostille cost?
The Texas SOS charges $15 per document ($10 per apostille for adoption proceedings, capped at $100 per child). Our service fee is separate and depends on the tier: Standard $299 for the first document and $199 each additional, Rush $499 / $299, Expedited $699 / $299. We always list the state fee and our fee as two lines, and we quote the total before you pay anything.
How long does a Texas apostille take?
Mailed requests: the state currently says up to 25 business days from receipt, longer in peak season. In person in Austin: same day for up to 10 documents. Our tiers control how fast we move on our end and whether we hand-carry; they don’t change the state’s own clock, and we won’t promise a date the state hasn’t given us.
Can you apostille a Texas document if I’m in Wichita?
Yes. That’s most of what we do. The apostille has to come from the state that issued the document, so a Texas birth certificate goes to the Texas SOS no matter where you live now. Bring or send us the document and we handle the rest.
Do I need to notarize my Texas birth certificate first?
No. Never notarize a vital record; it can void the apostille request. Certified copies from Texas Department of State Health Services, Vital Statistics, or the issuing county clerk are apostilled as-is. Notarization is only for documents you sign yourself, like a power of attorney or an affidavit.
What if my document is federal, like an FBI background check?
Federal documents don’t go to the Texas SOS at all. They go to the U.S. Department of State in Washington, and they must not be notarized first. We route those separately; see our FBI background check apostille page.
Is the country I’m sending to part of the Hague Convention?
Mexico by a wide margin, then Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador (all Hague members now). Vietnam and the UAE are not Hague members and require authentication plus embassy legalization. If you tell us the destination country, we’ll tell you which route applies before you pay.
Contact APB Notary
📞 Office / walk-in
316-265-9930
Business hours
🚨 24/7 cell
316-247-2525
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🌐 Español
316-835-9090
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📍 APB Notary & Apostille · 1901 E. 21st Street North, Wichita, KS 67214 — inside Mr. Mc’s Market at 21st & Grove.
🕘 Monday – Saturday, 9am – 9pm · 24/7 by appointment