Germany is a member of the Hague Convention Countries. Documents issued in the United States require an Apostille for use in Germany.
Apostille is not a complicated process. You do not need an expedited service to process your documents.
We are listing the customer service telephone number for all 50 states and for the U.S. Department of State. If you have a question, please call for help.
The United State Apostille explains hereby the correct way to obtain an apostille for use in Germany.
There are two types of Apostille.
Apostille for documents issued in a state for use in Germany. These documents must be apostilled by the same secretary of the state where it was issued.
Apostille for documents issued by a "Federal Agency" for use in Germany. These documents must be apostilled by the U.S. Department of State.
The country of Germany will accept these two types of Apostille. No need to obtain any stamp or legalization from the embassy or consulate of Germany.
We are displaying below a chart explaining the procedure to obtain an apostille in both above cases.
Example: Affidavit, Power of Attorney, Agency Agreement, Birth, Death, Marriage, Divorce, Single Status certificates.
Must be processed in the the in the same state where the document was issued.
Apostille fee is varied by the states. from $1 to $20 per document.
Processing time is varied by the states. from 1 day to 20 days.
Processing time is varied by the states. from 1 day to 20 days.
All States processing time, fees, mailing addresses are listed below.
| state | Fee | Time | state | Fee | Time | state | Fee | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $5 | 5 days | Alaska | $5 | 2 days | Arizona | $3 | 10 days |
| Arkansas | $10 | 2 days | California | $20 | 1 day | Colorado | $5 | 7 days |
| Connecticut | $40 | 1 day | Delaware | $30 | 1 day | District of Columbia | $15 | 3 days |
| Florida | $10 | 5 days | Georgia | $3 | 2 days | Hawaii | $1 | 7 days |
| Idaho | $10 | 1 day | Illinois | $2 | 7 days | Indiana | $2 | 3 days |
| Iowa | $5 | 2 days | Kansas | $7.5 | 5 days | Kentucky | $5 | 3 days |
| Louisiana | $20 | 3 days | Maine | $10 | 3 days | Maryland | $5 | 2 days |
| Massachusetts | $6 | 20 days | Michigan | $1 | 14 days | Minnesota | $5 | 2 days |
| Mississippi | $5 | 2 days | Missouri | $10 | 2 days | Montana | $10 | 5 days |
| Nebraska | $10 | 1 day | Nevada | $20 | 1 day | New Hampshire | $10 | 2 days |
| New Jersey | $25 | 15 days | New Mexico | $3 | 1 day | New York | $10 | 4 days |
| North Carolina | $10 | 5 days | North Dakota | $10 | 3 days | Ohio | $5 | 3 days |
| Oklahoma | $25 | 1 day | Oregon | $10 | 3 days | Pennsylvania | $15 | 5 days |
| Puerto Rico | $3 | 1 day | Rhode Island | $5 | 1 day | South Carolina | $5 | 2 days |
| South Dakota | $25 | 1 day | Tennessee | $2 | 3 days | Texas | $15 | 10 days |
| Utah | $15 | 5 days | Vermont | $10 | 1 day | Virgin Island | $25 | 3 days |
| Virginia | $10 | 5 days | Washington | $15 | 7 days | West Virginia | $25 | 2 days |
| Wisconsin | $10 | 5 days | Wyoming | $10 | 1 day |
No, you do not need the embassy or consulate of Germany stamp. The apostille is a final certificate which is recognized in the country of Germany.
If you want to use this birth certificate in Germany, then you do not need to obtain an Apostille. An Apostille issued in the United States, gets issued only for documents issued in the United States. If you want to use your apostille in a different foreign country, then you need to send your birth certificate back to Germany to obtain your apostille from there.
Your apostille is good to be used in all Hague Participating Countries. You can simply use it in Panama.
If your document was issued from a "State Court", then you need to have it stamped by the clerk of the court, then obtain an apostille from your secretary of the same state where it was issued. If your document was issued from a federal court, then you need to have it certified from the Department of Justice in Washington D.C., then obtain an Apostille from the U.S. Department of State for use in Germany.