The most requested apostille in El Paso is for a birth certificate. A child born at University Medical Center or Las Palmas is being registered with the Registro Civil in Ciudad Juárez for dual nationality; a marriage certificate from the El Paso County Clerk is needed for a spouse's residency paperwork in Mexico; a death certificate has to be presented for an inheritance or a pension in Chihuahua, Durango or Spain. In each case the foreign authority will accept the Texas record only with an apostille attached — the certificate issued under the 1961 Hague Convention that authenticates the signature of the official who certified the record. Getting it right is mostly a matter of ordering the correct copy from the correct office, which is where most do-it-yourself attempts fail.
Two rules shape this service. First, a Texas notary cannot certify a copy of a vital record — birth, death and marriage certificates and divorce decrees are recordable public documents, and copy certification of them is prohibited. The copy must come certified from the issuing agency: Texas Vital Statistics at the Department of State Health Services for births and deaths, the El Paso County Clerk for marriage licenses recorded here, or the district clerk for a divorce decree. Second, only the Texas Secretary of State's Authentications Unit in Austin may issue the apostille, for a fee of $15 per document, and it will only authenticate a certified copy bearing the signature of a current official; the Secretary of State may require a recently issued copy rather than the decades-old original in your safe. Records from other states are apostilled by that state, and records from Mexico are apostilled in Mexico.
Text or call (915) 302-0902 and tell us which record you have, where it was issued and which country will receive it. We confirm whether your copy will be accepted or whether a fresh certified copy needs to be ordered, quote the total — our service fee plus the $15 state fee per document and shipping — and pick up the document anywhere in El Paso or start from a copy you order online. We prepare the Secretary of State request form and payment, send the package to Austin, track it, and return the apostilled certificate to your door or ship it directly to your family in Mexico. We are not attorneys and do not advise on foreign registration or immigration matters; we make sure the document leaves Texas in the form the receiving country requires.
Documents we notarize
- Texas birth certificates (certified copies from Texas Vital Statistics or a local registrar)
- Marriage licenses and certificates recorded with the El Paso County Clerk
- Texas death certificates for estates, pensions and insurance abroad
- Divorce decrees — court-certified copies from the district clerk
- Certificates of no record of marriage from Texas Vital Statistics
- Adoption decrees and amended birth certificates
- Newly ordered certified copies when the Secretary of State will not accept an older one
- Companion documents: apostilled powers of attorney and consent letters for the same trip to Austin
Which copy the Secretary of State will accept
For a birth or death certificate, order a certified copy from Texas Vital Statistics or from a local registrar such as the City of El Paso Department of Public Health; the copy must be the long form with the registrar's signature, not an abstract or a hospital souvenir certificate. For a marriage, request a certified copy of the recorded license from the El Paso County Clerk, whose signature the Secretary of State has on file. Laminated certificates, photocopies, and copies certified by a notary will be rejected. If you were born in El Paso decades ago, the safest path is a newly issued certified copy, which we can help you order.
Mexico, dual nationality and documents that cross the bridge
Mexico is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so a Texas birth certificate with an apostille is accepted by the Registro Civil without any consular legalization. Many El Paso families combine steps: the apostilled birth certificate for a child's Mexican registration, an apostilled marriage certificate for the spouse, and an apostilled power of attorney so a relative can act in Chihuahua. Some Mexican offices also ask for a Spanish translation prepared by a certified translator in Mexico; check with the receiving office before ordering. The Consulate of Mexico in El Paso can confirm what its registry requires. For countries outside the Convention, the Secretary of State issues a certificate of authentication instead, and the document then goes to that country's embassy.
What to bring
- The certified copy issued by the agency, or authorization for us to order a new one
- The name of the country and office that will receive the document
- Your ID and a return address or the address of your family abroad
- Any instructions the receiving office gave you (translation, recency of the copy)
How a mobile appointment works
Tell us about the record
Text or call (915) 302-0902 with the type of certificate, where it was issued and the destination country. We confirm whether your copy qualifies or order a certified copy from Vital Statistics or the El Paso County Clerk, and quote the total.
We file with the Secretary of State
We pick up the document anywhere in El Paso, prepare the request form and the $15 state fee per document, ship the package to Austin with tracking, and follow it until the apostille is attached.
Delivered where it is needed
The apostilled certificate comes back to your door in El Paso or ships directly to your family in Mexico or abroad. We send you a photo of the apostille the day it arrives.