State of Alaska Authentication Instructions
updated June 10, 2010
News
February 1, 2010
Beginning with authentication certificate 50948, each certificate will be branded with a cryptographic fingerprint.
July 28, 2009
Beginning with authentication certificate 49700, the certificate will bear the signature of "Craig E. Campbell".
February 27, 2009
Beginning with Certificate 48677, we are adding a square border to the Apostilles in order to comply with the Hague requirements that the Apostille be square.
October 22, 2008
Beginning with Certificate 47790, we are removing the name of the country that the certificate is being generated for from the bottom margin of the certificate.
October 13, 2008
Beginning with Certificate 47750 we will begin attaching the certificates behind the document instead of on top of the document.
Contents
General Information
Document Requirements
Copy Certification By Document Custodian
Document Screening
Preparing Your Order
Fees
Shipping
Final Order Checklist
Other countries often require that official signatures and notarizations on your documents be corroborated by the Secretary of State before they will accept them. In Alaska this job is one of the many traditional Secretary of State roles that is handled by our Lieutenant Governor (we have no Secretary of State). To obtain the Lieutenant Governor's certificate of authentication or Apostille it will be necessary for you to drop off or send your original documents to the Lieutenant Governor's office in Juneau.
Your documents must be notarized by a commissioned Alaskan notary or must be the original document that is produced by an Alaskan official. After corroborating the Alaska notary or state official's signature, the Lieutenant Governor creates and attaches the required certificate to your document and returns it to you or to another destination of your choosing.
There are two different certificates used: the Apostille and the Certificate of Authority. It is not necessary for you to know which certificate you need but you do need to tell us which country will be receiving your documents so we can properly prepare your documents.
Apostilles are required by member countries of the Hague Conference on Legalization, although some non-member countries also accept the Apostille. A list of Hague Conference on Legalization members is available on the Hague's website. The countries listed are official members of the conference. Countries not listed will accept the Lieutenant Governor's Certificate of Authority instead of the Apostille.
This process requires strict adherence to specific document standards. The Lieutenant Governor will not authenticate documents that do not comply with the following standards. Please take the time to read the rest of these instructions carefully. If your documents do not meet the standards, they cannot be authenticated until they are corrected.
You will need to mail the original documents, a $5.00 fee for each certificate, a note with your contact information, the address to which you would like your completed order returned and the name of the country receiving your documents to:
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
Authentications Department
240 Main Street, Room 301
Juneau, Alaska 99801
For information or help, please contact the Notary Administrator:
(907) 465-3509
(877) 764-1234 toll-free in Alaska
notary@gov.state.ak.us
Your fees may be paid with a personal check or money order payable to the State of Alaska, or by Visa or Mastercard. Your documents will be returned by regular USPS mail to any domestic address unless you provide for another method of return. If you would like to speed up the return of your documents please read the section on shipping choices.
We will do our best to return your completed order the same day that we receive it. If you have any questions, special requirements or would like to discuss your particular situation please call or email the Notary Administrator for personal assistance.
Your documents must have original signatures and must be properly notarized by a commissioned Alaska Notary Public, or they must be official certified copies of Alaska Vital Records, Court or other official state documents.
1. Original signatures.
The Lieutenant Governor authenticates the signatures of the officials that have notarized or certified your documents. The official signatures on your documents must be originals or if official state documents, must be the same document issued to you by the state. Photocopies of signatures are not acceptable for authentication. If you need more than one copy of the same document authenticated it will be necessary to create duplicate originals and have each copy notarized separately. If you need more than one authenticated copy of an official state issued document it will be necessary for you to obtain as many officially certified copies as you will need.2. The Notarizations must meet statutory requirements.
Unless you are sending official certified copies of Vital Statistic, Court or other official State issued documents, your documents must be notarized. Please screen the notarizations to make sure they are complete and comply with statutory requirements. If you need help finding out if your documents meet the requirements, please contact the Notary Administrator or email your documents to the Notary Administrator for screening before you mail them. A properly notarized document in Alaska has:
- The Principal's signature on a statement or on a document that otherwise obligates the Principal in some manner (the Principal is the person whose signature is notarized.)
- A notarial certificate. A sample notarial certificate can be viewed below.
- The notary's signature.
- The expiration date of the notary's commission.
- An imprint of the notary's seal that is reproducible if photocopied. Embossed seals must be shaded over with pencil or ink to comply with Alaska law.
The notarial certificate is wording that states the details of the notarization. It usually appears on the document following the Principal's signature although it can be on a separate piece of paper attached to the document. No specific wording is required by Alaska law, but the law requires a notarial certificate on all notarizations. The following sample is provided to help you figure out if your document contains a notarial certificate.
State of Alaska _______ Judicial District Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me at _______________________(city), by __________________________(signer's name) on _______________(date). ____________________________ My Commission Expires: ___________________ |
3. Commissioned Notaries Public vs. Noncommissioned notaries.
Alaska statutes grant U.S. Postmasters, commissioned military officers, Alaskan Justices, Judges, Magistrates and Clerks of Court the power to perform notarial acts as noncommissioned notaries but the Lieutenant Governor has no ability to authenticate notarizations performed by U.S. Postmasters or commissioned military officers. We are not automatically able to authenticate signatures of court employees and officials, and in the instances when we can there is often considerable delay while we track down the signer and have them submit the material that we need in order to authenticate their signature. In many cases it may not be possible to authenticate a particular court employee signauture so it is always best to obtain your notarizations from a notary that has been commission by the Lieutenant Governor.
The easiest way to locate a commissioned notary is to visit your bank or credit union. If you are having trouble locating a notary public, contact the Notary Administrator for help. If you want to make sure that your document has been notarized by a commissioned notary before you send it or check to see if we happen to have a particular court employee's signature on file please review the section on document screening.
4. Official certified copies of Alaska Vital Records (Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, etc.)
The Lieutenant Governor authenticates official certified copies of Vital Records that have been mailed directly to our office. The Vital Statistics office in Juneau will also directly accept orders for authenticated copies of vital records. If you order authenticated copies from Vital Statistics, they obtain the correct certificate from the Lieutenant Governor for you for an additional fee. Copies of vital records can be ordered online at http://www.hss.state.ak.us/dph/bvs/, or you can contact Vital Statistics for assistance at (907) 465-3392. Their online request/order form does not provide a method for indicating that you would like your copies authenticated. You can use the margins to request authenticated copies, but you should follow up with them to make sure they understand that you need authenticated copies and that you are not just ordering regular certified copies. You must provide them with the name of the country that will be receiving your vital records so be very clear about wanting the copy "authenticated for China," or "authenticated for Russia," etc.
If you need to order new copies of your vital records and have enough time, you can avoid the additional authentication fee charged by Vital Statistics by first ordering regular copies and then sending them yourself to the Lieutenant Governor for authentication. If you are in a hurry and need new copies as soon as possible, the fastest way to do it is to order authenticated copies directly from Vital Statistics and to pay their additional authentication fee.
For information or help with ordering copies of vital records, please contact the Alaska Vital Statistics office in Juneau at (907) 465-3392. Other Vital Statistics offices in the State will not necessarily be familiar with the authentication process and should be avoided if you are trying to order authenticated copies (regular certified copies can be obtained from any office in the state.)
It is against the law to make photocopies of your Alaska Vital Statistics documents (AS 18.50.320 (5)). The Lieutenant Governor will not be able to authenticate photocopies of Vital Statistic documents even if they have been properly notarized via the Copy Certification by Document Custodian process.
5. Official certified copies of Alaska Court documents.
The Lieutenant Governor will authenticate official certified copies of Court documents and documents provided that we have their signatures on file (see "Other official state documents" below for details.) The Alaska Court System maintains an online directory at http://www.state.ak.us/courts/courtdir.htm, if you need contact information for ordering records.
It may be necessary for you to obtain a recent certified copy of your court document that has been created by a court employee who's signature we have on file already for this purpose.
It would be a good idea to contact us to have us screen any court document that you need authenticated before you send it for authentication. This will allow us to determine if the signature on your document can be authenticated or if you will need to work with the court system to obtain a newer copy.
6. Other official state documents.
The Lieutenant Governor collects signatures for various state officials for authentication purposes on an as-needed basis. If any signature is not already on file it will be necessary for us to collect it before we can process your order. Collection of signatures for this purpose requires the cooperation of the officials who signed your document. Although the officials contacted to date have been willing to help it is possible that we may eventually run into an official who refuses to cooperate. Also, we can only collect signatures from individuals who are currently employed. If we are unable to collect the signature -or if your copies are old and the official who signed it no longer works for the state - you will need to obtain new copies with signatures that we can work with or you will have to obtain notarized copies of the document. Getting what you need in this situation can be tricky. Please don't hesitate to contact the Notary Administrator for assistance if you are having trouble.
If you will be submitting official state documents for authentication it may speed up your order if you arrange for the Notary Administrator to screen your documents before you send them. This allows us to identify and attempt to collect any missing signatures while your order is enroute. If you choose not to take advantage of this service and your documents are not sufficient for authentication there may be a significant delay in processing your order while the missing signatures are being collected or while you are obtaining new copies of your documents.
Copy Certification By Document Custodian
Alaska's notaries do not have the authority to certify documents or photocopies of documents. When it is necessary to authenticate a photocopy of a document or a document has not been notarized at the time of issue it may be possible to use a process called Copy Certification By Document Custodian. Anybody except an individual functioning in the capacity of Notary Public can certify a document using this process. The person that is certifying the document signs a statement and their signature on that statement is notarized.
A properly executed Copy Certification By Document Custodian will meet the Lt. Governor's requirements for obtaining an Apostille or Certificate of Authority, but the finished product may not meet the requirements of the government to which you will be submitting your documents. Please contact the appropriate consulate and verify that a copy certified by this method will be acceptable. Failure to do so may result in the rejection of your Copy Certification By Document Custodian by the country that will be receiving your document, even if the notarization has been authenticated by our office.
It is against the law to make copies of your Alaska Vital Statistics documents (AS 18.50.320 (5)). The Lieutenant Governor will not be able to authenticate photocopies of Vital Statistic documents even if they have been properly notarized via the Copy Certification by Document Custodian process.
Photocopies of documents.
After you have determined that a Copy Certification By Document Custodian will be acceptable to the recipient country, create your photocopy, add the Copy Certification By Document Custodian notarial certificate to your document and obtain the services of a commissioned Notary Public to administer the oath and notarize your signature. It is most desirable to add the wording directly to the photocopy (front or back), but you can add a loose certificate (separate piece of paper containing the notarial wording) if necessary.
School transcripts and diplomas.
If you work with the registrar of your school in advance, they may be able to incorporate a notarial certificate into their normal copy certification process and provide you with a notarized original. These notarized originals are always preferable since it is the real document custodian's signature that is being notarized. Not all registrars will be familiar with this process so it may be necessary to have them read these instructions or see if they would be willing to contact the Notary Administrator to discuss your special needs.
The wording below is a template. Insert the appropriate information into the blanks as you write or type it onto your document. Most official certified copies (i.e. school transcripts) will already have a similar statement stamped or printed on the document. In that instance all that is required is to add a notarial certificate below the normal copy certification statement and signature.
Copy Certification By Document Custodian
State of Alaska
_________ Judicial District
I, _________(name)______________, hereby affirm that the attached
reproduction of ____(document description)_____ is a true, correct and
complete photocopy of a document in my possession.
_______________________________________________________
Signature and address of custodian of original document
Subscribed and sworn to before me this _(day)_day of _(month)_, _(year)_
________________________________
Notary's Signature
My Commission Expires: _____________
Since incomplete documents cannot be processed and must either be returned for correction or new copies created and completed, we strongly suggest that you give us an opportunity to screen your documents before you actually send them for processing.
Scanning and emailing the notarized pages of your notarized documents prior to sending your order allows us to verify that your documents have been properly notarized by an actively commissioned Alaska notary (or that we will be able to authenticate the signatures of other State officials) and that they meet all of the requirements for authentication. This screening process also allows us to accomplish some of the necessary preparation work before we actually receive your original documents. Having this work done by the time we physically receive your order can mean the difference between being able to return your documents on the same day we receive them or having to wait until the following business day.
Email only the notarized pages (or those that have been signed and sealed by a State official) of your documents to notary@alaska.gov. Please include your name, contact numbers and the name of the country that will be receiving your authenticated documents. We will review the notarizations and contact you to with the results. If your notarizations include embossed (a raised seal made with a crimping device) notary seals, please be sure to darken the raised portion of the seal with a pencil or ink before you scan the page. If steps are not taken to darken the seal it may appear as an incomplete notarization.
We will be focusing exclusively on the signatures of the officials who have signed or notarized your documents. You can help speed up the process by arranging your documents so that all of the same signatures are grouped together.
Staple or paperclip the pages of multi-page documents together to give us a visual cue that it is a multi-page document that must be kept together. Once we attach the certificate it cannnot be removed. If you would like to keep copies of your documents you should make them before you send your documents for authentication. It will be much harder to copy them after we return them with the certificates permanently attached.
Each of your documents requires a certificate to attest to the authenticity of each notary that has notarized the document. The certificates are combined with your original document and they will be permanently fastened together with an eyelet machine, so you should send your complete document and not just the pages that have been notarized.
When your documents have been completed and screened send the original (copies of signatures are not acceptable) documents to:
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
Authentications Department
240 Main Street, Room 301
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Authentications are $5.00 per certificate that we issue. We accept personal checks, money orders, cashier's checks and Visa and Mastercard. If you will be paying with Visa or Mastercard, please include our completed Credit Card order form (http://ltgov.state.ak.us/notary/files/cc-form.pdf) with your materials. Please do not send cash with your order. Please make your checks payable to "State of Alaska."
If you need help figuring out how much to pay, please contact the office for assistance: (907) 465-3509 or toll-free in Alaska at (877) 764-1234.
Unless other arrangements have been clearly requested and provided for, your order will be processed and returned at no extra cost to you by first class mail to any location in the U.S. you choose. Unless you want to use some form of express return shipping, there is no need to include a pre-paid mailer.
If you do desire some form of express return shipping, it will be necessary for you to include a pre-paid, pre-addressed mailer or envelope with your order. The mailer you provide must be pre-paid and ready to use as-is. Requests for expedited deliveries that do not comply with these requirements will be returned via regular US Mail.
Since we will be adding material to the documents that you send us the package we return to you will be bulkier and heavier than the one that you send to us. Please take this into consideration when preparing your return mailer, especially if you are sending a large volume of documents.
FedEx picks up our packages at 8:30 a.m.each weekday. Practically speaking, this means that FedEx returns are automatically delayed by at least one day since they will not be picked up by FedEx until the following morning. If your package arrives on a Friday it will not leave Juneau via FedEx until the following Monday. There is no problem with sending your documents to us via FedEx, but you may wish to consider using another method for their return - especially if you are in a hurry and your documents will be arriving in our office on Thursday or Friday.
Express mail through the U.S. Post Office seems to be the best choice for moving documents quickly between Juneau and the other larger cities in Alaska.
Even though DHL operates out of Anchorage they are no longer serving Juneau so we will not be able to use or honor any DHL mailers. Do not use DHL.
Before you ship your documents for authentication, please check your order against this list to make sure it is complete.
1. Do your documents meet every single one of the document standards for authentication?
2. If you are not sure that your documents meet the document standards, have you had the Lieutenant Governor's office screen your documents for you to make sure they can be authenticated?
3. Have your sorted your documents by notary and stapled or paper clipped the pages of multi-page documents together?
4. Have you included a note containing your contact information and the name of the country that will be receiving your documents?
5. If express return mail is desired, have you have included a pre-paid, pre-addressed air bill, mailer or envelope for that purpose?
6. If we will be forwarding your documents to a third party or consulate, have you included everything that they will need?
7. Have you carefully detailed any special handling requests or unusual circumstances regarding your order?