Moving abroad. Marrying overseas. Adopting internationally. Working on a foreign visa. Whatever the reason, AnchorPoint Signings obtains Rhode Island and U.S. Department of State apostilles so your documents are legally recognized in any of the 120+ Hague Convention countries.
An apostille is an official certificate, established under the 1961 Hague Convention, that authenticates the origin of a public document so it can be legally used in another country. Instead of complex embassy legalization, a single apostille is recognized by all member countries.
The apostille verifies the signature, seal, and authority of the public official — usually a notary, county clerk, court, or federal agency — who issued or witnessed the document. It does not certify the content. The receiving country handles that part.
For documents going to countries that are not part of the Hague Convention (such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, or several others), a certification is issued instead, and embassy legalization typically follows.
When you're racing a visa deadline, a foreign adoption hearing, or an international job start date, the last thing you need is a document rejected on a technicality. That's where we come in.
Knowing which apostille you need is half the battle. State documents go to the RI Secretary of State. Federal documents — like FBI background checks — go to the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. We handle both.
A working list of the documents we most commonly apostille. Don't see yours? Call us — if it can be apostilled, we can help you do it.
The apostille process trips people up because each document type has its own pathway. We map yours from the start so nothing comes back rejected.
Tell us the document, the destination country, and the deadline. We confirm exactly which apostille path applies.
We meet you at home, office, or anywhere in Kent or Washington County to notarize, review, and prepare your documents.
RI documents go directly to the Secretary of State in Providence. Federal documents are sent securely to the U.S. Department of State.
Once apostilled, your documents come back to us and we hand-deliver or ship them to you — tracked end to end.
Most "Rhode Island apostille services" you find online are based in California or D.C. and mail your originals across the country. We're a 20-minute drive from the Secretary of State.
We come to your home, office, hospital, or coffee shop anywhere in Kent and Washington County. No driving to Providence. No printing at FedEx.
Commissioned Rhode Island Notary Public, background-checked, and carrying E&O insurance. Your originals are handled by a real human, not an envelope.
RI apostilles are walked into the Secretary of State at 148 West River Street — we don't trust the post office with your originals.
Visa deadlines don't respect business hours. We schedule evenings, weekends, and same-day appointments when the calendar allows.
For FBI background checks and other federal documents, we partner with established D.C.-based couriers for hand-delivered submissions to the Department of State.
Text, call, or email — you'll know when your document arrives, when it's submitted, and when it's on the way back. No black box.
Apostille pricing is two parts: the government fee charged by the issuing authority, and our service fee for handling the entire process. Here's how it breaks down.
Plus the $5 RI Secretary of State fee per apostille. Volume discounts available for 3+ documents in one batch.
Plus the $20 U.S. Department of State fee per apostille and shipping. Expedited 7–10 business day service available via D.C. partner courier.
The apostille world is full of small "gotchas." Here are the questions we get most often.
An apostille is a certificate, established under the 1961 Hague Convention, that authenticates the origin of a public document so it can be legally recognized in another country. It verifies the signature, seal, and authority of the public official who issued or notarized the document — but it does not validate the content of the document itself.
It comes down to who issued your document. Documents from Rhode Island (vital records, RI notarized documents, RI court orders, RI corporate filings) get apostilled by the Rhode Island Secretary of State in Providence. Documents from a federal agency (FBI background checks, naturalization certificates, federal court documents, USPTO documents) get apostilled by the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. They are not interchangeable — submitting a federal document to a state office, or vice versa, results in rejection.
The Rhode Island Secretary of State charges $5 per apostille. The U.S. Department of State charges $20 per federal apostille. Our service fee covers everything else: meeting you in person, notarizing required documents, courier service to Providence or shipping to Sterling VA, tracking, and return delivery. RI apostille service starts at $200 per document; federal apostille service starts at $300 per document.
Rhode Island apostilles are typically issued within 1 to 5 business days from when we walk them into the Secretary of State. Federal apostilles take roughly 6 to 8 weeks via standard mail to the U.S. Department of State, or 7 to 10 business days when hand-delivered in Washington, D.C. through our partner courier. We always confirm current timelines before quoting your job.
No. The FBI is a federal agency, so an FBI Identity History Summary must be apostilled by the U.S. Department of State, not by any state Secretary of State. This is the single most common mistake we see — people send their FBI report to Providence and get it returned unprocessed weeks later. We make sure every document goes to the right place the first time.
Countries like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Egypt are not Hague members and don't accept apostilles. Instead, your document needs a certification from the Secretary of State followed by embassy legalization in Washington, D.C. We coordinate this full chain when needed — just tell us where the document is going.
The apostille certificate itself does not expire. However, the underlying document often has a validity window imposed by the receiving country. FBI background checks, for example, are typically required to be no more than 3 to 6 months old at the time of use abroad. Time your apostille request carefully so the document is still "fresh" when you arrive at your destination.
Each state's Secretary of State issues apostilles only for documents originating in that state. So a New York birth certificate must be apostilled in New York, a Texas diploma in Texas, and so on. We can still help by preparing affidavits, ordering certified copies, and coordinating with out-of-state services on your behalf.
Our in-person mobile service area is Kent County and Washington County, Rhode Island. For clients outside that area, we can still handle apostille work remotely — you ship us your documents, we process them through the appropriate authority, and ship them back. Call us to discuss your situation.
Easiest path: book a free consultation through our online calendar, or just call 401-324-9070. Tell us what document you need apostilled, what country it's going to, and your deadline. We'll quote the full path and timeline before any work begins.
Book a free consultation. We'll map the exact path for your document and country, quote the full cost up front, and get the process started this week.