One of the most common points of confusion in document legalization is that the United States doesn't have a single apostille authority. Apostilles are issued at two levels — and which one your document needs depends entirely on who issued or notarized it, not where it's going.
The Two Paths
- State-level documents → Secretary of State. A document notarized by a state-commissioned notary — a power of attorney, an assignment, a corporate resolution — is apostilled by the Secretary of State of the state where the notary is commissioned. Some states add a county authentication step before the Secretary of State will act.
- Federal documents → U.S. Department of State. Documents issued by a federal agency — USPTO certified copies of patents, trademarks, and file histories are the ones we handle daily — are apostilled by the U.S. Department of State's Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C. A state office cannot apostille a federal document.
Where Filers Go Wrong
- Sending a USPTO certified copy to a state office. The state has no jurisdiction over a federal seal — the document comes back unprocessed, and you've lost the mailing time.
- Assuming one order means one authority. A typical foreign filing package mixes both: a notarized POA (state path) plus a USPTO certified copy (federal path). Each document takes its own route, and they often finish on different timelines.
- Forgetting the destination still matters. The apostille-vs-consular question is set by the destination country. If the country isn't an Apostille Convention member, both paths continue past the apostille stage into consular legalization — check our country list if you're not sure.
Getting the Routing Right
Routing is exactly the kind of detail that costs weeks when it's wrong and is invisible when it's right. Our order process determines the correct authority for every document automatically — state, federal, or a mix. To see the cost and timeline for your documents, enter the details in our free estimate tool, or reach out to our team with questions about a specific document set.
The Patent Place specializes in obtaining certified documents from the USPTO and legalizing intellectual property documents for use in countries around the world.