How to Utilize Apostille Services in Maryland

When transferring documents across national borders, it is important to make sure that the verified documents will be trusted by the recipient country. Apostille services provide this verification.

For example, a recently widowed Chinese immigrant needed to send some documents to China in order to handle the assets of her recently deceased husband. She received a death certificate from the state of Maryland, and she needed to use this document in China. How would China know whether or not this document was an official document from the state of Maryland?

Given the prevalence of fraud, forgery, falsified documents, and counterfeit money, countries have good reason to doubt the legitimacy of the documents they receive. They do not want to be cheated by people who are using falsified documents to carry out business transactions or even steal money. They must take measures to ensure these documents are accurate and legitimate copies or translations of the original documents.

What are Apostille Services?

Just like a notary public puts their stamp of approval on a document so that other organizations will trust it, apostille services allow you to verify an official document or translation in one country so that other countries will trust it.

Apostille services are provided in accordance with the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. The countries who signed the agreement agree to provide validation for their official documents so the paperwork can be used in other countries that signed the agreement.

Keywords: Washington DC Translation Service, Washington DC Interpretation Service, Maryland Apostille Service, Maryland Translation Service, Maryland Interpretation Service, Maryland Translators, Maryland Interpreters.

Who Provides Apostille Services in Maryland

The Office of the Secretary of State provides Apostille Services in Maryland. According to their website, they charge five dollars per copy. For example, if you need your original file and translated file apostilled, you will pay five dollars for each copy. If you need to verify a birth certificate as well as a death certificate, these will be considered as two documents.

Apostille services in Maryland are available Monday to Friday from 9am to 1pm. Each customer is given a fifteen-minute time slot. Based on my experience, it doesn’t take that long to finish your business in the office, but the waiting time could vary depending on how many people are in line.

If you have questions, you can call the Secretary of State office at 410-974-5521. Before I visited their office, I called this phone number and somebody picked up the phone and answered my questions. You can also go to the following website to find more details: https://sos.maryland.gov/Certifications/Pages/default.aspx/LINK_TO_AGENCY_HOME.

Their address is 16 Francis Street, Wineland Building, Annapolis, MD 21401. If you cannot go there in person, you can also mail in your document with a return envelope to get your apostille services. If you mail your documents in, the turnaround time for FedEx, UPS, or USPS Priority Mail is 3-4 days. For regular mail, the turnaround time is 7 days. Before sending your documents by mail, you might want to read their instructions carefully or call them to ask clarifying questions to ensure you have the right documents. It can be tricky to know which documents you need to send, and they may return or reject your application if you do not provide the proper documents.

What You Should Know Before You Go There or Mail the Documents

First, you have to understand what kind of documents qualify for apostille services. These include official documents issued by various state agencies, such as birth certificates, death certificates, marriage records, divorce records, police records, corporate good standing certificates, adoption paperwork, dual citizenship records, paperwork related to business activities, and transfer of school records. It also includes documents to certify the appointment of elected officials, and portions of the annotated code of Maryland.

However, they do not provide the service for certain federal documents such as FBI background checks, USCIS documents, or Born Abroad birth certificates. These should be sent directly to the State Department for certification and apostille services.

If you are sending the document to a country that is part of the Hague Convention, the Maryland apostille services will work. But when sending documents to a country that is not part of the Hague Convention, the documents should be sent to the state Department Authentication Office after getting certified by the Maryland Secretary of State.

What You Should Know About Certification of Your Translation and Notary Services

In addition to apostille services, some documents intended for international use must be translated by a certified translator or a qualified professional translator. The translator must provide an affidavit of accuracy for the translation. He or she must state in the letter that he or she is a professional translator, knows both languages well, and certifies has translated the documents correctly. Then the translator must personally appear before a Maryland notary and affirm that he or she personally translated that document. The notary then signs his or her name and puts the notary stamp on the letter.

You can get your documents notarized for free if you visit your bank, but it does take time to travel to the bank and take care of this task. If a translation company asks their translator to get an affidavit notarized, the company will usually pay for the translator’s time. In addition, the Maryland Secretary of State specifically requires that this notary letter be certified by the Circuit Court of Maryland. The purpose is to verify that the notary is in good standing and that he or she is still registered in the state as a qualified notary. When I went to the Circuit Court of Maryland to certify a notary, they charged me less than 2 dollars. But it was inconvenient to drive thirty minutes one way to take care of this.

However, if you hire an agency to take care of your apostille services, this time will be included in the cost. At Translation Boulevard, we can take all of these steps for you. Rather than needing to go two or three different places in person, you can pay for our Maryland apostille services, and the trip to the notary will be included in your translation services. We offer a special package to take care of your Apostille needs.

In Case You Want to Visit Their Office In Annapolis

If you decide to handle everything yourself, you will need to:

Get the translation done by a certified or professional translator
Provide a notarized certificate

To do this, you will need to visit the office of the Secretary of the State in Annapolis, Maryland. You could plan a day trip and spend some time sightseeing. You could visit the nearby historical and scenic sites. The office is very close to the downtown dock, where you could take a boat to cruise the Seven river. Or you could visit the beautiful campus of the Naval Academy. Visitors are allowed to enter the Naval Academy, but they must show their ID. Sometimes it is hard to find a parking space, but there is metered parking available. And in my experience, it is usually not too difficult to find a spot to park.

We wish you good luck in getting your documents translated and apostilled. And we are here for you if you need us. Please contact us at 202-992-2626 or email us at contact@translationblvd.com.

How To Acquire Maryland Apostille Service

How to Utilize Apostille Services in Maryland

Who Provides Apostille Services in Maryland