Apostille in Chicago: How to Apply in Person or by Mail

To get an apostille in Chicago, take your document to the Illinois Secretary of State’s Index Department at 69 W. Washington St., Suite 1240. The fee is $2 per document, walk-ins are handled first-come, first-served, and in-person requests are typically processed while you wait.¹ An apostille is a certificate that verifies the signature and seal on a public document so it will be accepted in any of the 129 countries that participate in the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention.²

Which Documents the Chicago Office Can Apostille

The Index Department can only apostille documents that carry an Illinois government official’s signature or an Illinois notary’s seal.³ In practice, that covers four groups:

Birth, death, and marriage certificates, but only certified copies from the County Clerk or local registrar where the event occurred. A photocopy or a hospital-issued birth record won’t be accepted.
Diplomas and transcripts carrying an original signature from a school official and notarized by an Illinois notary. A registrar’s seal alone is not enough.
Notarized private documents, including powers of attorney, contracts, and affidavits, as long as the notary is an Illinois notary.
Corporate filings from the Secretary of State, provided they are certified by a government official or notarized by an Illinois notary.

If a document doesn’t fit one of those categories, the office will send it back.

What to Prepare Before You Go

Download and complete the Application for Authentication or Apostille from the Secretary of State’s website. The form asks for the destination country, your contact information, and the number of documents you’re submitting. Missing fields can delay processing, so fill it out completely.³

Check each document against its category before you leave the house. A birth certificate from the County Clerk is ready as-is. A diploma is not: if your school didn’t provide a notarized copy, you need to take the signed original to an Illinois notary first. This trips up plenty of applicants.

Bring payment for $2 per document. For multiple documents, a single check or money order payable to the Illinois Secretary of State works. The office also accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.³

Applying in Person at the Chicago Office

The office is at 69 W. Washington St., Suite 1240, Chicago, IL 60602.³ Expect to pass through building security before reaching Suite 1240. Walk-in requests are handled first-come, first-served, and in most cases you’ll leave the same visit with the apostille attached to your document.¹ If you’re on a deadline, this is the fastest option available.

Applying by Mail

You can also mail your application to the Chicago office, or to the Springfield headquarters at the Index Department, 2701 S. Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, IL 62723. Your package must include the completed application form, the original documents, your payment, and a self-addressed stamped return envelope. Mail-in processing currently takes 7 to 14 business days depending on volume.¹

Provide accurate contact information on the form. If the office finds a problem with your documents, a working phone number or email address is the difference between a quick fix and an application sitting in limbo.

After You Get the Apostille Back

The apostille certificate is physically attached to your document, either directly on it or on a separate sheet called an allonge.⁴ Do not detach it. The Secretary of State’s office warns explicitly that removing the apostille invalidates it, and you’d need to start the process over.¹

An apostille has no built-in expiration date, but the institution receiving your document may impose its own freshness rule. Immigration offices and embassies commonly expect documents apostilled within the previous three to six months. Universities tend to be more flexible. Check with the receiving institution before assuming an older apostille will be accepted.

Federal Documents Are Handled by a Different Office

This is the most common mistake. The Illinois Secretary of State cannot apostille federal documents. FBI background checks, federal court records, and anything bearing a federal agency seal must go through the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C.⁵ That process uses Form DS-4194 and can be handled by mail or in person. If you’re moving abroad and need both a state-issued birth certificate and a federal background check apostilled, you’ll be working with two offices on two timelines.

If Your Destination Country Isn’t in the Hague Convention

The apostille only works between Hague Convention countries. For a non-Hague destination, you need full legalization instead: authentication from the state, then from a federal office, and finally from the destination country’s embassy or consulate.⁵ For Illinois documents in this situation, the Secretary of State issues a Certificate of Authority rather than an apostille. Each step carries its own fees and processing time, so budget extra weeks.

Translations

The Illinois Secretary of State does not provide translation services.¹ If the receiving country requires your document in its official language, have it translated and then have the translation notarized by an Illinois notary before you apply. The apostille then covers the notarized translation as a separate document.

Ask the receiving institution exactly what they need before you start. Some countries want the translation attached to the original before apostilling; others accept them as separate apostilled documents. Getting this wrong means paying twice and waiting twice.

1
Illinois Secretary of State. Apostilles and Certifications
2
HCCH. Status Table – Convention 12
3
Illinois Secretary of State. Application for Authentication or Apostille Certifying Documents for Foreign Use
4
United Nations. Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents
5
U.S. Department of State. Office of Authentications