How it works. Pick the state and the type of document. You get the steps in order (the right copy or notarization, any county step, the office's form, where to send it and the fee, and the stated processing time), each marked from the office's own page or as not confirmed.
Build an apostille request checklist
Wisconsin: notarized document
County step not confirmed
- Office
- Department of Financial Institutions (apostilles) and the Secretary of State's Certification Desk
- Fee
- $10 per document.
- Do thisSign in front of a notary commissioned in the stateDocuments certified or issued by Wisconsin public officials or notaries; submit the original or certified document.
- Not confirmedCounty or court clerk stepThe office's page we read doesn't say whether a county or court clerk must certify this first. Ask the office before you send it.
- Do thisFill in the office's requestUse the office's own form: Apostille Request Form. Name the country where the document will be used. Open the form
- Do thisSend or bring it to the officeSubmit the original or certified documents with the request form; an online application with payment is available. Fee: $10 per document. Expedited: $35 per document. Address: Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, PO Box 7838, Madison, WI 53707-7838
- Good to knowAllow for processingStandard 3 to 7 business days; expedited 1 to 2 business days, not counting mail time.
Official sources: Apostille General Information, Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions · Apostille Fees, Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions · Authentication & Apostille Instructions, Wisconsin Secretary of State · More on this state
After the apostille: if the destination isn't in the Hague Convention, the document still needs embassy legalization.
Getting the document ready
Most rejections come from the starting paper: a photocopy instead of a certified copy, a record from another state, or a notarization with a missing seal or commission date. Our guide to why apostille requests get rejected walks through them, and apostille vs notarization explains what each one proves. For every state on one page, see how to get an apostille in each state.
MCC Solutions handles New Jersey apostilles, and our guide explains how to get an apostille in New Jersey. For other states, this page lists the office's own process.
General information, not legal advice. Checked November 2026 against the official pages linked in each checklist. Fees, forms and processing times change; the issuing office's own page is the final word. An apostille confirms the signature and seal on a document, not what the document says, and the office abroad decides what it accepts.
Questions about the checklist
Which state do I pick?
The state where the document was issued or notarized, not where you live. A birth certificate from one state and a power of attorney notarized in another go to two different offices. FBI checks and other federal records go to the U.S. Department of State whichever state you pick.
What does 'County step' mean?
In some states a county or court clerk must first certify the notary's commission or the clerk's signature before the state office will attach the apostille. The checklist says yes, no, or not confirmed for the state and document you picked.
What do the labels mean?
Do this is a step the office's own page sets out. Good to know is timing or background. Not confirmed means no official page we opened said, so nothing is guessed: ask the office before you send the document.
Is a diploma a school record or a notarized document?
Pick school record. Many offices apostille a school record only as a notarized copy or a notarized statement from the registrar, so the checklist also shows the state's notarized-document rule when the office's page has no separate school rule.
Does the checklist save what I choose?
No. The page reads your choices from the address bar and builds the list on the server. Nothing is stored, and it works without JavaScript.