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How to get a Washington State birth certificate apostille

By Frank MetayerUpdated November 8, 2026

If you were born in Washington State, the Washington Secretary of State issues the apostille for your birth certificate. It will only take an original certified copy from a Washington government office: the Department of Health (DOH) vital records office in Tumwater or a local health department. A photocopy or a hospital souvenir comes back.

This guide is about Washington State, the one with Seattle, Spokane, and Olympia. A birth in Washington, D.C. is a different record handled by a different office, and we cover it on a separate page.

The apostille itself is a one-page certificate that countries in the Hague Apostille Convention recognize. It confirms the signature and seal of the official who certified your copy. It says nothing about the facts printed on the certificate.

For other Washington documents, such as powers of attorney or a Certificate of Existence, see our Washington State apostille guide.

Key takeaways

The Washington Secretary of State apostilles any birth registered in Washington State, wherever you live now.
Send an original, unaltered certified copy from DOH or a Washington local health department. Photocopies, hospital certificates, and notarized copies are rejected.
DOH can order the apostille for you when you order a new certificate. If you already hold a certified copy, it can go straight to the Secretary of State.
Washington limits certified copies to people with a qualifying relationship to the person named, and asks for proof of identity.
The apostille never expires, but the receiving country may want a recently issued copy and a translation.

Where a Washington certified copy comes from

Washington keeps birth records from July 1, 1907 to the present. Two kinds of office issue certified copies. The first is the state DOH, through its vital records office in Tumwater. The second is a local health department or health district, such as the one in your county, which can print a certified copy of a Washington birth.

Both carry the signature of a government official, which is what the apostille checks. The Secretary of State's rule is short: an apostille can only be issued for an original, unaltered, or certified copy of the vital record. As of 2026, its instructions don't single out one issuing office, so a certified copy from DOH or a local health department should be accepted. Some local offices only hold records from a later year, so ask before you order an older record.

Marriage certificates follow a different path in Washington. They come from the county auditor that issued them, or from DOH. If your file needs both a birth and a marriage record, expect two different offices.

Already have a certified copy in a drawer? It can be used, as long as nothing has been written on it, laminated, or stapled to it. If you can't find one, or you live far from Washington, our document retrieval service can order the copy and route it straight on for the apostille.

Who is allowed to order it

Washington birth records are not open to anyone who asks. DOH issues certified birth certificates only to people with a qualifying relationship to the person named, such as the person themselves, close family, or a legal representative. You show photo ID and, when you aren't the person named, proof of the relationship.

The exact list of qualifying relationships and accepted documents is on the DOH website, and it has changed in recent years. Check it before ordering a record for a parent, a sibling, or a grandparent's citizenship-by-descent file.

Hospitals and birth centers can't order a birth certificate on a family's behalf. The souvenir certificate some hospitals hand out, often with footprints on it, has no legal value abroad.

Two ways to get the apostille

The first route starts at DOH. When you order a new certificate, DOH can request the apostille from the Secretary of State as part of the same order. As of 2026, DOH takes these combined orders by mail and by phone through VitalChek, its ordering vendor, and you name the destination country on the order.

The second route starts with a certified copy you already have. You send it to the Secretary of State's apostille program in Olympia with its request form, and you list the country where the document will be used. The country matters: a Hague Convention country gets an apostille, while a country outside the Convention gets a certificate of authentication instead.

Either way, the certificate Washington attaches is for use abroad only. U.S. offices won't accept it. As of 2026, the Secretary of State has also offered in-person service at its Tumwater and Cheney locations. Hours, addresses, and walk-in rules change, so confirm on sos.wa.gov before you go or mail anything.

We're based in San Diego and have no office in Washington. You send us the certificate by tracked mail, or drop it off at one of our San Diego offices, and we submit it to the Washington Secretary of State for the apostille. Our birth certificate apostille service works the same way for every state.

Don't notarize a Washington birth certificate

A birth certificate already carries the signature the Secretary of State needs to confirm: the State Registrar's or the local health officer's. A notary stamp on top of it adds nothing. A notarized photocopy is worse, because it isn't a certified copy at all, so the office has nothing official to apostille.

Notarization does matter for other papers that travel with a birth certificate. A sworn affidavit or a power of attorney signed in Washington gets notarized by a Washington notary, then goes to the same Secretary of State. Send birth certificates exactly as issued, and only notarize the documents you sign yourself.

Born in another state, or in D.C.?

The Secretary of State's instructions put it plainly: vital records must be apostilled by the issuing state. If you were born in Oregon and live in Seattle, Oregon handles it. Living in Washington doesn't give the Washington office any authority over another state's record.

A birth in Washington, D.C. goes through the D.C. government, not Olympia. And a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, issued when a child of U.S. citizens is born overseas, is a federal record that only the U.S. Department of State apostilles.

Born in California instead? Our California birth certificate apostille guide explains California's authorized-copy rule, which Washington doesn't use.

What the destination country controls

The apostille has no expiration date. Many consulates and civil registries still ask for a birth certificate issued within the last few months, and a few want something even newer. That rule comes from the receiving office, so ask before you order the copy. Our guide on how long an apostille is valid covers the difference.

Most non-English-speaking countries want a translation. In most cases the apostille goes on first, so the translation can cover both the certificate and the apostille, but the receiving office sets the order. We arrange certified translation. Spain usually asks for a sworn translation by a Traductor-Intérprete Jurado, a translator appointed by Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC); Hector Gomez on our team holds that appointment, though requirements vary by consulate.

Read the receiving office's checklist closely for the version it wants. If it names a long-form or full record, say so when you order, so you don't have to order twice.

Why Washington packets come back

These are the problems we see most when a Washington birth certificate is returned or refused abroad.

It's a photocopy, a hospital certificate, or a notarized copy instead of a certified copy.
The copy was altered: laminated, written on, or with its seal damaged.
The birth was registered in another state or in Washington, D.C.
The request didn't name the destination country, so the wrong certificate type came back.
The receiving office wanted a newer copy than the one sent.
The translation was done before the apostille and doesn't include it.

Need your Washington birth certificate apostilled?

Send us the copy you have, or let us order a new one from DOH. We check it, submit it to the Washington Secretary of State for the apostille, and arrange a translation when the destination asks for one. Washington rates are listed on our pricing page.

Start an order Call 1-800-889-7850

Frequently asked questions

Who issues the apostille for a Washington State birth certificate?+

The Washington Secretary of State, for any birth registered in Washington State, wherever you live now. A birth in Washington, D.C. is handled by the D.C. government instead, and the U.S. Department of State never apostilles a state birth certificate.

Which Washington birth certificate copy can be apostilled?+

An original, unaltered certified copy issued by the Washington Department of Health or a Washington local health department. Photocopies, notarized copies, and hospital souvenir certificates are rejected.

Can the Washington Department of Health order the apostille for me?+

Yes. When you order a new certificate from the Department of Health, it can request the apostille from the Secretary of State as part of the same order. As of 2026 it takes these orders by mail and by phone through VitalChek. If you already have a certified copy, it can go straight to the Secretary of State.

Should I notarize my Washington birth certificate before the apostille?+

No. The apostille confirms the signature of the official who certified the copy, which is already on it. A notary stamp adds nothing, and a notarized photocopy is not a certified copy, so it is rejected.

How long does a Washington birth certificate apostille take?+

Most orders are completed in six business days or sooner. Government workload can lengthen this. If we first need to order a certified copy for you, add the time the issuing office takes to produce it.

How much does it cost to apostille a Washington birth certificate?+

We charge a flat price per document, based on the document type and the state or agency that issued it. You see that price before you order, with no hidden fees.

Keep reading

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