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.

White Plains Apostille & Mobile Notary often process apostilles for the Bahamas, and when handling Power of Attorney documents, our clients are often surprised to learn that we need to add additional language—typically in the form of standardized stamps—to “legalize” the document for use in New York.

What is often overlooked is that if the “agent” being granted powers by the “principal” is located in New York, the POA becomes fully valid and enforceable in the state. With this in mind, the document must adhere to a few straightforward rules that were updated in the 2021 POA “makeover.”

If you’re submitting a POA for apostille that is intended for use in the Bahamas, and your attorney there isn’t well-versed in New York law, a few modifications will be necessary to ensure compliance.

Please note that these changes are NOT required to obtain your apostille. However, if we are also notarizing your POA, we make these adjustments because the “errors” are so apparent that we address them as part of our notarial duty to ensure the document’s accuracy.

This table highlights the key differences and similarities between the requirements for a Power of Attorney in Nassau, Bahamas, and New York State according to the 2021 ABA version.

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

Welcome to the New York State ABA 2021 Power of Attorney with Westchester County venue. This Power of Attorney is not intended for International apostille use and should not be used if you are unfamiliar with agent/principal relationships.

download

Note that we have had signers call us after having their POA rejected by their bank. This is common and banks have the absolute right under § 644 of New York’s General Obligations Law to wait 10 days to even provide and answer.

So please, this is important, make sure you’ve reviewed your Power of Attorney a few times before submitting to a financial institution. If it’s “mission critical” that the Power of Attorney be instantly accepted and in “full force”, you’ll need to have a New York State attorney certify it. If the bank sees an attorney attached to the document, they will not “play games” as the civil penalties could be huge.

One common rejection we hear is banks asking for the “gift rider affidavit” or attachment. This rejection was common with the old 2010 Power of Attorney, but the new 2021 version eliminates this and includes the $5000 gift rider provision on page 3 section (g).

Remember we cannot assist you in preparing this document, but we can warn you of the issues that have come up with past clients.

download it here

Same Day NYC Marriage License Procurement for Apostille (additional):

Marriage documents must be exemplified prior to County Clerk authentication. See if your marriage documents qualify by watching this video:

We offer a completely turn-key solution for obtaining your fully Apostilled marriage records in New York City. This service is ideal for applicants that don’t have their original marriage records and live across the country or abroad. The only step you’ll need to take is to send us a completed and notarized power of attorney. Once we have this, we can:

1. Apply, pay the filing fees and obtain your marriage record at 140 Worth Street, and;
2. Have your marriage record authenticated with the New York County Clerk at 10 Centre Street, and;
3. Process your apostille with the Department of State, and;
4. Ensure your Apostilled marriage record is at a FedEx location before 6pm.

This is the same service we provide to law firms that receive flat fees of anywhere between $4500 and $7500 (per applicant) for immigration and Visa packages. The fees do not include any other documents being processed or Apostilled ($cost for same day / $cost for 3days):

New York County (Manhattan) $1499/$499 [10 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007] 1:17 33ml (no authentications on Wednesdays)
Kings County (Brooklyn) $1699/$549 [360 Adams St, Brooklyn, NY 11201] 1:12 34ml
Bronx County (The Bronx) $1599/$549 [851 Grand Concourse, The Bronx, NY 10451] :51 26ml
Richmond County (Staten Island) $1899/$599 [130 Stuyvesant Pl, Staten Island, NY 10301] 1:26 62ml
Queens County (Queens) $1699/$549 [8811 Sutphin Blvd #106, Queens, NY 11435] :50 27ml

*Richmond County may not always be available the same day

The same service is available in Westchester County:

White Plains $249
Yonkers $349
New Rochelle $349
Mount Vernon $349
Peekskill $449
Rye City $299

These fees do not include the document fees from the clerk as many applicants choose to pull multiple copies of the exemplified documents “just in case”. The exemplified marriage documents are usually about $35 each. 

MARRIAGE DOCUMENT PROCUREMENT FEES NEVER INCLUDE THE APOSTILLE FEES OR APOSTILLE EXPEDITING FEES. THIS IS A COMPLETELY SEPARATE SERVICE. THE APOSTILLE RATES ARE FOR “READY TO GO” DOCUMENTS.