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The step-by-step-step guide to obtaining an exemplified marriage license with authentication ready for apostille.

Looking to save a few dollars? You can obtain your own marriage license copy with the required authentication ready for apostille. Here are the step-by-step instructions from apostille expeditor, Harry Otto:

First, make an appointment with the New York City Marriage Bureau, located at 140 Worth Street, here:

https://clerkscheduler.cityofnewyork.us/s/RecordRoom

Second, if you’re driving, download the ParkWhiz App:



and book discounted parking here:

101 Worth Street “Foley Street Garage” for the discounted rate of $35 for 3 hours vs $55. This will generate a QR code that gets you in-and-out quick.

Third, don’t forget your ID because you’ll need to show it to gain entry and get rid of your belt and metal objects before the metal detectors. Make sure you walk in with this form filled out:

Fourth, after you obtain your long-form marriage docs with exemplification, head back out the doors and make a left to the City Clerk at 60 Centre Street. Don’t go through the front entrance. Walk along the left side of the building to the back.

This what the back entrance looks like:



They don’t take credit cards or checks. It’s $3 for the authentication “tag” and DO NOT go on Wednesday (no authentication). And don’t go between 12:30 and 2PM (lunch). And this is what the line looks like at 2PM:

Fifth, if you have a few extra minutes make a right when you leave because you’re 2 blocks from Chinatown and a 4 minute walk from Canal Street ($45 Lois Vuitton).

That’s it. 

Want to just let us handle everything? The application process starts here: apostilleapply.com and you can call/text/WhatsApp anytime at (914)441-2444.

Don’t wait until the last minute to finish this document. In an emergency, this document is powerful even if you have a solid will and/or family trust.

The power of attorney (“POA”) should be part of every adult’s financial and estate planning. Unless an individual’s assets are jointly owned or held by a trust, no one can handle his/her financial affairs in the event of incapacity without a power of attorney. It would take a lengthy and expensive court process to appoint a guardian. 

A POA is not just a tool to be used later in life. Every parent of a college-bound student should consider having that young adult execute a POA so they can handle financial matters, or even gain access to their child’s residential quarters, if needed.

Earlier this year, the New York State Legislature made significant changes to the New York power of attorney law, which went into effect on June 13, 2021. Because of these changes, it is important for New Yorkers and others with New York POAs to review them at this time and to consider updating them.

An overview of the changes

Title 15 of Article 5 of New York’s General Obligations Law establishes a “statutory short form power of attorney” by which an individual, the Principal, can designate an Agent to act on the Principal’s behalf in matters of personal and financial nature. Even though the POA form may consist of several pages, especially when permitted modifications are added, it is still called Statutory Short Form, so that the language conferring authority with respect to each power listed on the “short form” is construed to incorporate a full description and extent of the agent’s authorized transactions set forth in the statute. Similar statutes exist in many other states.

Powers of attorney are frequently refused by financial institutions and other third parties. Changes in the New York power of attorney law that went into effect in June simplify the form and reduce the likelihood of financial institutions refusing to honor validly executed POAs.
In 2009, a POA form that deviated from the statutory language would be deemed invalid. The statutory form also limited the agent’s ability to make gifts by allowing only a maximum aggregate annual gift of $500, unless the principal executed a separate Statutory Gift Rider (“SGR”). Additionally, the old law provided no sanctions or punitive remedies for third parties refusing to honor a valid POA. 

As a result of the new law, the following significant changes have been made:

1. Compliance with statutory requirements. According to the new law, a POA form must “substantially conform” to the language provided in the General Obligations Law *5-1513, but is not required to be identical to the POA form in the General Obligations Law §5-1513. POA forms may be valid even if they contain slight errors in spelling, punctuation, formatting, or type slightly different from the statutory POA form language. The following two warnings, which are in the NY GOL *5-1513, cannot be omitted from the POA: the “Important Information for the Agent” clause and the “Caution to the Principal” clause.
2. Legislative gift riders will be eliminated. In order for the agent to make gifts in excess of $500 per year, the principal previously had to execute a separate SGR, which required two witnesses to witness the principal’s signature and an acknowledgment from a notary. By amending the law, a principal can authorize the agent to make gifts up to $5,000 per year, and additionally, the principal can modify the standard POA form to authorize the agent to make gifts exceeding $5,000 per year, and to authorize the agent to make gifts to himself or herself or to make other gift transactions and changes to interests in the principal’s property without the need for a separate SGR.
3.  Penalties for not accepting a valid POA. In the past, financial institutions have refused to accept a valid, properly executed POA or only recognized their own form. Previously, there weren’t any penalties for unreasonable refusal to honor POA. Under the new law, if a third party is found to have acted unreasonably in refusing a POA, the court can award damages, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. A POA can be rejected under certain circumstances, and there’s a timeline for when it can be rejected. POA recipients have 10 days to accept or reject the POA, or to ask for an affidavit from the agent or an opinion of counsel from the principal, and must then accept or reject the POA in writing within seven days of receiving the affidavit or opinion of counsel. 
4. Third parties acting in good faith are protected by the Safe Harbor. By law, recipients of a POA are protected if they act in good faith when accepting the POA, even if the POA is later deemed invalid. The recipient is shielded from liability if the following conditions are met: (a) the POA must have the principal’s acknowledged signature verified by a notary public or another authorized to accept acknowledgments; and (b) the recipient must not know that the principal’s signature is forged, the POA is invalid, or that the agent is abusing his/her/its authority.
5. Requirement for execution. In New York, a statutory power of attorney, or a non-statutory power of attorney, executed by a principal must: (a) be typed or printed in clear type no smaller than 12 points; and (b) be signed, initialed, and dated by the principal or by another person other than the principal’s agent or successor agent, in the principal’s presence and under the principal’s direction. In either case, the signature of the person signing must be duly notarized and acknowledged, and must be witnessed by two persons who are not named in the instrument as agents or as permissible recipients of gifts, principal. The person who takes the acknowledgment may also serve as one of the witnesses. 

Though third parties may more readily accept the new POA form, powers of attorney and statutory gift riders properly executed previously under the law in effect at the time of execution will remain valid.

If you are in Northern Westchester, we can still have your Apostille processed same day if we have everything by 11am. No other Apostille expediters courier to the Westchester County Clerk and the New York State Department of State 5 days a week.

Step by Step Action Guide to Apostille your Power of Attorney in Westchester for less than $20

1. Once you have your undated and unsigned power of attorney typed up, head over to the Westchester County clerk’s office in White Plains. They’re located at 111 Martin Luther King Blvd next to the Galleria. If you’re driving, there’s always a convenient spot to park on Quarropas Street right by Grand Street. Put 45 minutes in the meter or download the White Plains Parking mobile app.
   
   
2. Head to the third-floor clerk’s office and simply ask for a notary. It’s free.
   
   
3. Tell the notary that you’ll be sending this off for an Apostille and you also need “authentication”. They will staple a blue authentication tag to the notarized document. This is $3.00. If you have multiple pages being notarized in the same Apostille, you only need one tag – each notarization in the single Apostille does not require authentication.
   
   
4. The clerk’s office has the New York State Department of State Apostille request form. Ask them for one. Or you can fill that out now by downloading it here:

https://dos.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2022/07/1917-f.pdf

5. After filling out this form and enclosing a check for $10 please remember to include a self-addressed and stamped envelope. They will absolutely delay your request if you don’t follow this direction. Expect your completed Apostille in the mail within 3 weeks. If you don’t receive it in 3 weeks, you can try calling them at (518)474-4429. There is no tracking on any part of this process, so this is only for applications that are not time sensitive.
   
   
6. Another alternative to mailing, but no faster, is to hand deliver the power of attorney, application and $10 check directly to the Department of State at 123 William Street in New York City. They will forward your documents to Albany for processing, and you can save on postage. And yes, some people value their time less than $4 in postage.

Is there anything we can do to speed up the process for you? It takes less than two minutes for you to complete the intake form. Click here to start the apostille application process: apostilleapply.com or call, text even WhatsApp (914)441-2444.

If you are in Northern Westchester, we can still have your Apostille processed same day if we have everything by 11am. No other Apostille expediters courier to the Westchester County Clerk and the New York State Department of State 5 days a week.

White Plains Apostilles & Mobile Notary Service Definitive 2022 Guide to getting your Apostilled FBI Background Check.

In order to be clear, we are not channelers. In the United States, channelers are companies that are authorized by the government to collect your fingerprints, send them to the FBI and begin your FBI background check.

Having said that, it should be noted that a channeler is NOT an apostille expediter. If you are dealing with a good expediter, he will be able to apostille your FBI background check in less than a week, sometimes even on the same day.

It is recommended that you use Printscan, located just minutes away at 75 South Broadway in White Plains, in order to obtain the FBI background check in the fastest time. Printscan no longer accepts phone or drop-in appointments. Visit https://www.printscan.com/location/white-plains-ny/ to schedule an appointment – fingerprints and FBI background checks are $90 plus tax.

Printscan can send a fingerprint tech to your house or office! For this, you can call them at (631)782-1700. They don’t have a direct White Plains line anymore.

We recommend getting a PDF version of your FBI background check for the fastest turnaround time. When it’s ready, you’ll be able to upload a PDF to our application page at apostilleapply.com for immediate printing and apostilling.

With apostilleapply.com, you can get services like translation, color scan-to-PDF, and FedEx to your chosen country. We handle everything you need for your apostille and final application.

In addition, many of our requests involve marriage licenses when applying for second citizenship and golden VISAs. If the country wants a current marriage license instead of an original, you’ll need to get that yourself. The Westchester County Clerk’s office on Martin Luter King Blvd in White Plains handles this. In New York City, the Department of Health handles it. Always call the County Clerk in the jurisdiction where the original certificate was issued to find out who issues certified copies.

Are you ready to apostil your FBI background check and documents? You can start the process at apostilleapply.com or text Harry Otto at (914) 441-2444.

Cheers, Amanda.



*Are you an advertiser looking to work with White Plains Apostilles and Mobile Notary? Reach out to Allison M at becomeanadvertiser@corporateapostilles.com

Generally speaking, one of the first steps to get the apostille is to order a certified copy of the birth certificate through the New York State Department of Vital Statistics. 

There are literally millions of U.S. citizens living abroad and many get married, work, or establish businesses outside the United States. If an U.S. citizen is about to marry abroad, obtain dual citizenship, or start a business in a member of the Hague Apostille network, then they will need to provide a birth certificate with an apostille. The birth certificate must be authenticated by the same state that has issued the certified copy.

Let New York Apostilles help handle the process for as little as $149. We can even assist you in authenticating a copy as many countries will accept copies when you can not obtain an exemplified or certified copy.

In Westchester County, the following Cities, Towns and Villages have the authority to issue birth certificates:

1. Cities:

• Mount Vernon
• New Rochelle
• Peekskill
• Rye
• White Plains
• Yonkers

2. Towns:

• Bedford
• Cortlandt
• Eastchester
• Greenburgh
• Harrison
• Lewisboro
• Mamaroneck
• Mount Pleasant
• New Castle
• North Castle
• North Salem
• Ossining
• Pelham
• Pound Ridge
• Rye
• Somers
• Yorktown

3. Villages:

• Ardsley
• Briarcliff Manor
• Bronxville
• Buchanan
• Croton-on-Hudson
• Dobbs Ferry
• Elmsford
• Hastings-on-Hudson
• Irvington
• Larchmont
• Mamaroneck (town)
• Mount Kisco
• Ossining (town)
• Pelham Manor
• Pleasantville
• Port Chester
• Rye Brook
• Scarsdale
• Sleepy Hollow
• Tarrytown
• Tuckahoe
• Irvington
• Armonk
• Chappaqua
• Katonah
• You can even upload your copy securely here: apostilleapply.com

Questions about the process? Call, text or WhatsApp Apostille Expediter Harry Otto at (914)441-2444 7 days a week.

We offer free pick-up and delivery of your Korean Apostille documents at H-Mart in Scarsdale and Yonkers. We are at these 2 locations everyday meeting with our Korean clients!

If you are looking to apostille your birth certificate and were born in New York City, each country will require a different level of authentication. The strictest variation we commonly see is countries like Italy for dual passport applications, where they require an updated original long form birth certificate with exemplification.

What is a long form birth certificate?

The long form birth certificate contains all the information regarding the newborn, like parents’ names (including mother’s maiden), the attending doctor, and exact time of birth. In contrast, a short form birth certificate merely contains vital information and says, “the long form birth certificate is on file”.

What is an exemplification?

The exemplification is just another document, from the Clerk or Department of Vital Statistics, that says “we recognize this birth certificate as being authentic”.

Wait, can’t you just have it exemplified as part of the Apostille process?

Yes, but having us exemplify more than doubles the price of the Apostille because of the time required at Centre Street in New York City. The fastest and easiest way to obtain the long form exemplified birth certificate is to order it here (and have it shipped directly to us):

https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-01012

We do offer options where you can forward a specific power-of-attorney to us granting permission to obtain your birth certificate in NYC if time is absolutely of the essence.

Some of our same day Apostille options allow for obtaining your documents, having the Apostilled and couriered to FedEx all before 6pm.

To start the Apostille process, take 4 minutes to provide us with a bit of information here:

apstilleapply.com

* As a sidenote, Birth Certificates issued in Westchester County are always exemplified as part of the Apostille process. We are at the Westchester County Clerk every day of the week!

If you are in Northern Westchester, we can still have your Apostille processed same day if we have everything by 11am. No other Apostille expediters courier to the Westchester County Clerk and the New York State Department of State 5 days a week.

FBI Background Check with Apostille – November 2022 Update

In 2020, we used to make daily trips to Washington, D.C., on behalf of our VIP clients to process “same day” apostilles on FBI background checks. As a result of the Covid initiative, the walk-in counter in Washington, D.C. was eliminated and all federal apostille processing was done by mail through the Virginia processing center.

Here we are in November of 2022 and the D.C. service counter is still closed. As a result, the time it takes to process a mail-in application has jumped from four weeks to six weeks to eight weeks to what is now turning out to be ten weeks.

The fact that some expediting companies still quote 4 weeks as a timeframe for issuing an apostille on their websites is equally frustrating. As a result, many candidates have to abandon their applications, and some sometimes fly to foreign countries empty handed as a result of this. 

You have a few options, and depending on the country and the purpose of the FBI Background Check, we may be able to assist you. 

Call, text or WhatsApp apostille expediter Harry Otto at either (914)441-2444 or our D.C. hotline at (202)705-4713. Or, if you’re ready to upload your FBI Background Check PDF, use our apostille intake form:

apostilleapply.com