Authentication is the process of verifying a county official, a state official, district officials, registrars of the Department of Health or a notary public from the State of Minnesota that certifies or notarizes a document. International officials often require document authentication to prove that the document is genuine and acceptable in another country.
Examples of documents submitted for authentication includes:
Issuance of a Single Authentication Certificate:
Effective May 15, 2018, the Minnesota Secretary of State's office will begin issuing a single Authentication Certificate (Apostille) for documents to be used outside of the country. The Minnesota Secretary of State follows the Uniform Apostille Standards, and adopts the Model Apostille Certificate of the Hague Conference on Private International Law.
The Apostille only certifies the authenticity of the signature and the capacity of the person who has signed the public document, and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which the public document bears. The single authentication certificate (Apostille) will be printed in black ink and no longer will include the gold embossed state seal. The new single authentication certificate has an element of added security by providing a method on our website to confirm the issuance of the authentication certificate by our office. Each certificate has a unique file number and date the authentication certificate was issued. To verify the issuance of an Apostille that was issued May 15, 2018 or later, go to https://apostille.sos.state.mn.us.
If you have any questions, please call us at 651-296-2803 or 1-877-551-6767 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
MN Relay Service: 711
Apostille: An apostille is a document attached to either a foreign document or a US document that "certifies" the document for international use. (It is a French word for "certification")
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