Avoiding Rejection: A Guide to the Ohio Power of Attorney Apostille Process

Apostilles/authentications verify the origin of public documents for foreign use:

Ohio only validates documents for countries outside the United States.

Ohio can authenticate only documents signed by a public or elected Ohio official:

The signature must be an actual or facsimile signature made in official capacity.

Apostilles cannot be issued for U.S. domestic use:

Only documents intended for foreign countries are eligible.

A cover letter is required for every request:

The Ohio Secretary of State’s cover letter must accompany the documents.

Destination country must be specified:

The cover letter must clearly list the country where the document will be used.

Mail-in submissions are allowed:

Mailed requests take about 2–3 business days to process.

In-person submissions are accepted:

Documents can be delivered directly to the Client Service Center when mailing is not suitable.