Minnesota apostille services and document preparation

Before you start

1. 1Identify the document type and the office that issued it.
2. 2Confirm the destination country's treaty relationship and the receiving authority's requirements.
3. 3Send us a scan for preparation review before committing originals.

Order the correct record from the right office

• MDH offers certified birth and death records, with many services also available through county offices.
• Births from 1900 and deaths from 1908 onward are available statewide; older records come from the county of the event.
• MDH accepts requests by mail or fax and does not offer in-person service.
• Marriage certificates come from the county that issued the license.
• Divorce decrees come from the county district court that granted the divorce.
• MDH does not record marriages or divorces.

When a recipient requests a long-form birth certificate

• Minnesota no longer issues long-form birth certificates.
• MDH recommends a birth certificate, a noncertified birth record and its policy memo as an alternative combination.
• For a pre-2001 birth, specifically request an image of the paper record.
• Confirm that this combination satisfies the recipient before ordering.

Keep supporting records and translations separate

• The certified birth certificate is a separate apostille submission from any supporting records.
• The noncertified birth record and policy memo require proper Minnesota notarization before authentication.
• A notarized translation is also authenticated separately from its underlying certificate.

Public records and private documents follow different preparation rules

• The state checklist accepts original Minnesota state- or county-certified records without additional notarization — this includes vital records, divorce decrees and judgments.
• Photocopies do not replace those certified records.
• Other documents, including affidavits and powers of attorney, require proper Minnesota notarization.
• Check the jurisdiction, notarial statement, title, date, wet signature and stamp before submitting.

School records and electronically signed documents

• A school seal and official's signature alone are insufficient — Minnesota diplomas and transcripts require notarization.
• The Secretary of State opens sealed transcripts to inspect the notarization.
• Confirm whether the recipient wants the original diploma or an acceptable copy.
• The office does not accept printed electronic or remote notarizations as originals — obtain document-specific preparation guidance before submitting.

Submit with payment and return instructions

• Mail the request form, documents and payment to the Secretary of State at First National Bank Building, 332 Minnesota Street, Suite N201, Saint Paul, MN 55101.
• Follow the form's payment options — mailed credit-card and wire payments are unavailable.
• Choose pickup, a prepaid return envelope or regular postal return.
• Regular postal return has no tracking — use a prepaid return envelope if tracking is important.

Plan for the destination and deadline

• Appointments are required for in-person service.
• Minnesota issues one certificate type for every destination — that does not remove additional legalization requirements where the Hague Convention does not apply.
• FBI checks require the federal U.S. Department of State route.
• Out-of-state birth and school records follow their issuing state.
• An apostille does not validate document contents or guarantee recipient acceptance.
• Florida remote online notarization may be available for eligible private documents, subject to identity, witness, document and recipient requirements. It follows the applicable Florida route and does not turn a Minnesota public record into a Florida record.

Minnesota document routing

How Miami Dade Apostille can help

• Send your document type, issuing office, destination country and deadline before mailing originals. We can identify preparation gaps, coordinate the correct process and discuss translations with qualified translators.
• Government processing and delivery remain separate from our initial review.

Frequently asked questions

Minnesota locations served

Miami Dade Apostille serves clients throughout Minnesota by mail. Documents can be sent from anywhere in the state — no in-person visit to our office is required.

• Minneapolis
• Saint Paul
• Rochester
• Duluth
• Bloomington
• Brooklyn Park
• Plymouth
• Maple Grove
• Woodbury
• St. Cloud
• Eagan
• Eden Prairie

Sources

• Minnesota SOS: apostille and authentication ↗
• Minnesota SOS: authentication mail form (PDF) ↗
• Minnesota MDH: birth and noncertified records ↗