Apostille in Illinois
Which documents this office will accept unverified
- From the source
Document must be notarized by an Illinois-commissioned notary (or signed by an official whose signature is on file with the state, e.g., registrar/county clerk/vital records official); no county-clerk pre-certification of the notary required — SOS authenticates the notary signature directly (unverified — official page inaccessible)
Certifications you may need first
No additional certification step is required before the apostille.
The request form
The request form is not published online — confirm with the office whether it wants a form, and which one, before you send anything.
What the source does say about this office is in the notes at the end of this page.
Requesting online
- Online route
There is no online request route — this office takes requests on paper.
Where to go in person
Springfield unverified
Index Department, 111 E. Monroe St., Springfield, IL 62756- Access
The source does not state whether this office takes walk-ins, appointments or drop-offs only.
- Hours
Not published for this office.
- From the source
Per NNA reference; walk-in policy unverified. A third-party page instead lists Springfield at 2701 S. Dirksen Pkwy, conflicting and unverified
Chicago unverified
69 W. Washington St., Suite 1240, Chicago, IL 60602- Access
Open for walk-in service.
- Hours
Mon–Fri 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (apostille processing to 4:00 p.m.)
- Same-day service
Available.
- From the source
Same-day first-come first-served (unverified — commercial source)
What it costs
- Fee
$2.00 USD per document
"Apostilles, Certificates Of Authority and Certificates Of Incumbency $2" (per document; official ILSOS fee page)
How to pay unverified
- By mail
Check or money order.
- Make it payable to
Secretary of State
Copy that exactly as written.
- From the source
Check/money order payable to Secretary of State (unverified — official page inaccessible; credit-card acceptance not confirmed)
Where to send your documents unverified
- Mailing address
- Secretary of State, Index Department, 111 E. Monroe St., Springfield, IL 62756
- From the source
Per NNA reference (unverified)
How long it takes unverified
- By mail
Mail: 7–14 business days (unverified)
- In person
Walk-in: same-day, first-come first-served (unverified)
- From the source
No expedited tier published
Checking status and verifying an apostille
- Verify an issued apostille
No public verification register is published for this office. That is not the same as an apostille being unverifiable — ask the office how it confirms one.
- Check a request's status
No status-tracking page is published for this office.
Remote online notarization
- Status
Remote online notarization is permitted here.
- Legal basis
5 ILCS 312 art. VI-A (electronic notarial acts, incl. via audio-video communication) and 5 ILCS 312/6A-103(b); enacted by SB 2664, P.A. 102-160 (signed July 23, 2021); operational once implementing rules (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176) were adopted — reported effective June 5, 2023 (unverified on an official page)
- What the notary must register
Separate commission required — Electronic Notary Public commission from the Secretary of State ($25 application; NNA notes the $25 e-notary fee is waived for two years starting July 15, 2026 (unverified)); bonds: $5,000 standard notary, $25,000 electronic notary, or $30,000 combined; e-notarization system providers must enroll only commissioned e-notaries and report enrollments to SOS within 5 days (5 ILCS 312/6A-101); mandatory course of study since Jan. 1, 2024; notary must be located in Illinois when performing the act (5 ILCS 312/6A-104(f))
- How the signer is identified
For audio-video (remote) electronic notarizations (5 ILCS 312/6A-103(b); 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.835, 176.860): (1) personal knowledge; or (2) remote electronic presentation of a government-issued ID credential + credential analysis of front and back + dynamic KBA assessment (min. 5 questions from public/private data sources, ≥80% correct). Credible witness personally known to the notary also recognized (per NNA). Illinois also allows any notary to perform remote (paper) notarial acts via two-way audio-video with a compliant certification procedure (14 Ill. Adm. Code 176 subpart provisions)
- Fee caps
Remote act: $25.00 USD
Standard notarial act: $5.00 USD
- From the source
$25 max for any electronic notarial act (5 ILCS 312/3-104; 14 Ill. Adm. Code 176.540 cross-references); remote notarization of a paper document by a non-electronic notary falls under the $5 non-electronic cap (unverified). $5 max for any non-electronic notarial act (5 ILCS 312/3-104); itemized receipts required; notarial fee must appear separate and distinct from other charges. Six SOS-approved e-notarization platforms reported (BlueNotary, Clear Sign, DocVerify, eNotaryLog, Pavaso, SIGNiX) (unverified list)
Other things the source says
Request form via https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/index/apostilles.html (direct PDF URL not confirmed — page blocked to automated fetch)
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