Documents for use abroad
Can a document notarized online be apostilled?
Short answer: it depends on the state and the document, and for New Jersey we plan around paper and ink. Check before you pick the type of notarization, because the wrong choice costs you a week.
Matthew Coleman, NJ Notary Public and NNA Certified Loan Signing Agent. Cranford, NJ. Fee confirmed before your session. Card charged only after it is complete. We aim to confirm within 15 minutes, 7am to 9pm.
Who does what
The notary notarizes your signature. The apostille is a separate certificate that the State of New Jersey attaches afterward, to confirm that the notary's commission is real. The state looks at the notary's signature and seal on the document you submit.
That order is why the type of notarization matters: the state has to be able to verify what it is looking at.
How we handle it
For apostilles, our service notarizes with original ink signatures, as the state requires for the way we submit them, and then prepares and sends the request. See apostille services for what is included.
If you only have an electronically notarized file, tell us before you sign anything else. Whether that file can be apostilled depends on the state's current rules and on where the document is going, so confirm that first rather than assume it.
Which route to pick
Signer is in New Jersey: an in-person or ink-signed notarization, then the apostille request.
Signer is elsewhere and the document needs an apostille: remote ink-signed notarization (RIN) can fit, where the signer signs paper on camera and mails it. See RIN.
Signer abroad: read the documents from abroad pages and ask us about your country before you sign.
Ask these three questions
1. Which country will receive the document, and do they require an apostille or something else, such as legalization?
2. Does the receiving party need the original paper, or will a scan do?
3. Is the document a state record, such as a vital record certificate, or a private document that a notary signs? Vital records are handled differently.
Related
General information, not legal advice. Rules change, and the office receiving your document decides what it accepts, so confirm with them before you sign. Updated October 2026.
FAQ
Common questions
Does an apostille come from the notary?
No. The notary notarizes your signature. The state issues the apostille afterward.
Can I apostille a document I signed on screen?
That depends on the state's rules and the destination. Ask before you sign, because a document notarized the wrong way may have to be done again.
What if the country is not in the Hague convention?
Then an apostille is not the right certificate and the document may need legalization instead. See the guide on Hague and non-Hague countries.
Can you tell me which I need?
Yes. Tell us the document and the country and we will say which route fits before you pay.