United States

Apostille in New York

Verified as of August 9, 2026

Everything below is transcribed from this office's own published sources and printed in its words. A value we could not confirm against an official page carries an unverified marker — but the absence of that marker is not a guarantee that a fact was checked, and the source's own doubts stay inside the notes reproduced here verbatim. Confirm fees, addresses and deadlines with the office before you send documents or money.

Who issues the apostille

Competent authority

NYS Department of State, Division of Licensing Services, Apostille and Authentication Unit

HCCH: Secretary of State / Deputy Secretaries sign

Which documents this office will accept

By document type

Document type	What this office requires
NYS vital records (non-NYC)	no county clerk step if issued by NYS Department of Health bearing the signature of the Director of Vital Statistics or NYS Registrar
DCJS background checks	copy with DCJS representative's signature; notarization not necessary

Certifications you may need first

This office runs 3 separate chains, each for a different kind of document. Follow the one that matches yours — the numbering starts again in each.

Notarized documents

Applies to: Notarized documents — "must be certified by the County Clerk of the County where the notary is certified to notarize" BEFORE submission to DOS

County Clerk of the county where the notary is certified to notarize (certifies the notary)
You can skip this step: NYS vital records need no county clerk step if issued by the NYS Department of Health bearing the signature of the Director of Vital Statistics or NYS Registrar

New York City vital records (NYC-specific)

This chain applies only inside that sub-jurisdiction of New York — not to the rest of it.

NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (order the NYC birth/death certificate WITH a "Letter of Exemplification")
NYC Marriage Bureau records follow the analogous city process
New York County Clerk's Office (certifies the DOHMH record before DOS apostille)
Applies to: New York City vital records (NYC-specific), after obtaining the Letter of Exemplification

Educational documents

Institution official (certifies the record as an official/true copy)
notary public (notarizes the certifying official's signature; source does not specify jurisdiction — the next step certifies the notary via the County Clerk)
County Clerk (certifies the notary)

Complete these before the apostille request itself.

The request form

Form: A PDF request form.
Form number: DOS-1917-f (Rev. 02/24)
Where to get it: https://dos.ny.gov/apostillecertificate-authentication-request-forms
From the source: Translated versions available; no separate direct PDF URL exposed

Requesting online

Online route: There is no online request route — this office takes requests on paper.
From the source: Mail, walk-in, or drop-off only

Where to go in person

Albany

One Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Avenue, 6th Floor, Albany, NY 12231

Access: Open for walk-in service.
Hours: Mon–Fri 9:00 am–4:15 pm
Same-day service: Available.
Document limit: 10 documents
From the source: Drop-off also accepted (non-priority)

New York City

123 William St., 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10038-3804

Access: Open for walk-in service.
Hours: Mon–Fri 9:00 am–4:00 pm
Same-day service: Available.
Document limit: 10 documents
From the source: Drop-off also accepted (non-priority)

Binghamton

44 Hawley Street, Room 1506, Binghamton, NY 13901-4455

Access: Open for walk-in service.
Hours: Mon–Fri 9:00 am–12:00 pm & 12:45 pm–4:00 pm
Same-day service: Available.
Document limit: 10 documents
From the source: No drop-off

Buffalo

295 Main Street, 8th Floor, Suite 821, Buffalo, NY 14203

Access: Open for walk-in service.
Hours: Mon–Fri 9:00 am–12:00 pm & 12:45 pm–4:00 pm
Same-day service: Available.
Document limit: 10 documents
From the source: No drop-off

Utica

207 Genesee Street, Utica, NY 13501-2812

Access: Open for walk-in service.
Hours: Mon–Fri 9:00 am–12:00 pm & 12:45 pm–4:00 pm
Same-day service: Available.
Document limit: 10 documents
From the source: No drop-off

What it costs

Fee

$10.00 USD per document

$10 per document

How to pay

By mail

Check or money order.

Make it payable to

N.Y.S. Department of State

Copy that exactly as written.

From the source

"Checks/Money Orders must be payable to N.Y.S. Department of State. Cash payments are not accepted." Credit/debit card accepted with cardholder authorization (CVV required for all credit card payments) — card channel not itemized in source

Where to send your documents

By U.S. Mail: New York Department of State, Division of Licensing Services, Apostille and Authentication Unit, PO Box 22001, Albany, NY 12201-2001
By courier: One Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Avenue, 6th Floor, Albany, NY 12231
From the source: Courier address is for express/courier delivery

How long it takes

This office publishes no turnaround commitment. What it does say:

In person: Walk-in: same-day at all five offices (max 10 documents per customer for same-day service)
From the source: Drop-off (Albany and NYC only): not treated as priority, processed by receipt date. Mail: no timeframe stated on official pages

Checking status and verifying an apostille

Verify an issued apostille

https://apostille2-verify.dos.ny.gov/ASPLCNSApostilleVerify/ApostilleVerify.aspx

Verifies apostilles/certificates issued on or after April 9, 2013

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

Executive Law § 135-c; temporary remote ink notarization (RIN) effective February 25, 2022 and repealed January 31, 2023; permanent electronic (remote) notarization authorized February 1, 2023 (per DOS FAQ; implementing regs 19 NYCRR Part 182; journal requirement effective January 25, 2023)

In force since

February 1, 2023

What the notary must register

Required. Notary must register with the Department of State as an Electronic Notary before performing electronic notarial acts (EL 135-c(3)) — providing name/address, commission expiration, email, description of the technology, and an exemplar of the electronic signature; registration fee $60 (unverified)

How the signer is identified

One of (DOS FAQ / 19 NYCRR 182.5): (1) notary's personal knowledge of the signer; (2) communication technology with remote presentation of a government photo ID PLUS credential analysis (third-party validation of the ID) PLUS identity proofing meeting at least NIST Identity Assurance Level 2 (dynamic KBA-type proofing); (3) oath/affirmation of a witness who personally knows the signer (credible witness). Audio-visual recording of every remote session required

Fee caps

Remote act: $25.00 USD

Standard notarial act: $2.00 USD