Notary & Apostille

The Office of the Secretary of State is the only office in New Mexico authorized to issue a certification, or apostille, for a notarized document going to a foreign country. This office also issues certifications and apostilles for other public documents issued by government agencies, including those issued by County Clerks and the New Mexico State Registrar of Vital Records.

An apostille is attached to a notarized original document or a certified recorded instrument.  For documents that are notarized, the apostille verifies that the person who notarized the document was appointed to a notary public commission in New Mexico at the time of the notarization.  For certified recorded instruments issued by government agencies, the apostille verifies that the person who certified the document was an appointed or elected official in New Mexico at the time of the certification.  Examples of public documents include birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, and school transcripts.

• An Apostille is required for documents that are being sent to a foreign country that is a party to the Hague Convention of 1961. A listing of these countries can be found at https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/authorities1/?cid=41.

• A Certificate of Appointment is an authentication used for documents that are being sent to a foreign country that is not part of the Hague Convention.
• Both an Apostille and Certificate of Appointment verify:
• that the person who notarized the document was appointed to a notary public commission in New Mexico at the time of the notarization; or
• that the person who certified a document issued by a government agency was an appointed or elected official in New Mexico at the time of the certification. Examples of these documents include birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, and court documents.
• Apostilles and Certificates of Appointment are attached to the original documents using an eyelet. This eyelet physically cannot be removed, and you will likely not receive these documents back from the foreign country. If you attempt to remove the eyelet it will tear your document and will make the authentication invalid.
• The Office of the Secretary of State is the only office in New Mexico authorized to issue a Certificate of Appointment or Apostille for a notarized document or government issued document going to a foreign country.
• The statutory fee for a certification of appointment or an apostille is $3.00 per document. Authentication requests are required to be filed online at BFS | An Official New Mexico Government Website. Payment may be made by credit card or E check.
• You may request an apostille or certification online at:
• https://enterprise.sos.nm.gov/, in person, or by mail. Requests are processed daily by the Business Services Division Monday – Thursday 8:00 am- 4:30 pm.
• Mailed in requests may be sent to 325 Don Gaspar- Suite 300, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87501
• Please include the authentication request, which can be filed online at https://enterprise.sos.nm.gov/, with your original documents when submitted.
• If your documents are being returned to a foreign country you must enclose a complete pre-paid, pre-addressed international air bill and international envelope.
• Notaries Public may NOT make a photocopy of a birth certificate or a death certificate, marriage certificate, nor a publicly recordable document. Birth and death certificates are official state records. Certified copies may be obtained only from the State Registrar of Vital Records at Vital Records & Health Statistics in Santa Fe, New Mexico by calling 505-827-0121 or by visiting their website nmhealth.org.
• Please call our office at 1-800-477-3632 if you have further questions regarding these types of authentications.