One of the hardest questions to answer when becoming a notary public or as a self-starting notary-with an established company receiving an inquiry, is the Ohio Secretary of State Apostille Section. It is complicated, and requires specific training to respond to an Apostille request confidently. Today, we examine this and everything that goes into conducting one properly for both remote online notaries and traditional notaries.
Ohio Secretary of State Apostilles Explained
Ohio Secretary of State Apostilles are only used to authenticate documents that will be used in another country. A State of Ohio Apostille may take the form of a stamp upon a document or it may be attached to the document as an allonge (a French word describing an attachment to a legal document). If an allonge is used, it is important that it NEVER be detached from the original document, to which it may be stapled, glued, or otherwise firmly attached.
Who Signs & Seals an Apostille?
Ohio Secretary of State Apostilles are signed by a "Competent Authority." Documents issued by a federal office must be apostilled by federal officials, all other documents are apostilled in the state from which they originate.
What is a Competent Authority?
In most US states, the office of the Secretary of that State is designated as a Competent Authority, in others, it is the office of the Lieutenant Governor. In all cases, the Competent Authority in the office is able to authenticate the seal of the notary and/or other authentication of the signatures.
What documents must be apostilled by the US Secretary of State?
Federally issued documents include all documents issued and sealed by federal agencies (FBI, FDA, USDA, etc.) as well as documents sealed by military notaries or by federal officials. Secretaries of State such as the Ohio Secretary of State apostille documents like Birth, Death, Marriage Certificates, etc...
