North Carolina 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 exact requirements.
3. 3Send us a scan for preparation review before committing originals.

Order a certified vital record

• North Carolina Vital Records requires proof of identity and eligibility for certified copies.
• An uncertified informational copy does not qualify for apostille.
• The Vital Records office does not provide or arrange apostilles: receive the certified record first, then submit it separately to the Secretary of State.
• Eligible applicants include the person on the record, qualifying relatives and authorized representatives; review the current requirements before ordering.

Choose the county office that holds the record

• Birth, death and marriage records can also be requested through the Register of Deeds in the county where the event occurred.
• For a death outside the person's home county, use the event county.
• Divorce records are handled by the Clerk of Court in the county where the divorce was filed.
• If a recipient asks for a decree and related orders, identify those specific documents when contacting the clerk.
• Do not assume a summary certificate meets that request.

Check the date of the official certification

• The Secretary of State needs a certifying official's signature from April 2000 or later because older official signatures are not on its records.
• This concerns the certification signature, not the date of the birth, marriage or other event.
• For an older issued copy, ask the custodian about obtaining a newly certified record before submitting it.

School diplomas and transcripts need notarization

• North Carolina school documents require notarization by a North Carolina notary.
• A registrar's school seal alone is insufficient.
• Contact the issuing school to arrange preparation of the diploma, transcript or report card requested by the recipient.
• Where a copy is appropriate, the state provides a true-copy affidavit template requiring notarization.
• Do not use this general copy procedure as a substitute for the certified vital record required by Vital Records.

Prepare the submission and return delivery

• Include the cover letter, payment, documents with their certifications attached and a prepaid return envelope or courier label.
• A courier label must be prepaid, not merely marked with an account number.
• If documents should go to a third party, provide that destination in the cover letter and on the return envelope.
• Use the current Authentication Office contact page for the correct mailing or delivery address and service availability.

Match the authority to the document and destination

• FBI checks and other federal records follow federal authentication.
• Records from another state remain on that state's route.
• Confirm the destination's apostille or legalization requirements and any translation, format or document-age conditions.
• Authentication does not guarantee acceptance of the contents.
• Florida remote online notarization may suit eligible private documents subject to identity, witness, document and recipient requirements. It follows the applicable Florida process and does not replace North Carolina public-record certification.

North Carolina document routing

How Miami Dade Apostille can help

• Send your document type, issuing office, destination country and deadline before mailing originals. We can review preparation, coordinate the appropriate process and discuss translations with qualified translators.
• Government processing and delivery remain separate from our initial review. Acceptance also depends on the recipient's document, format and translation requirements.

Frequently asked questions

North Carolina locations served

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

• Charlotte
• Raleigh
• Greensboro
• Durham
• Winston-Salem
• Fayetteville
• Cary
• Wilmington
• High Point
• Concord
• Asheville
• Chapel Hill

Sources

• NC Vital Records: FAQs ↗
• NC Secretary of State: authentication FAQs ↗
• NC Secretary of State: authentication manual ↗