Free New Hampshire DIY guide
Get an apostille or certificate directly from New Hampshire: obtain the correct issuer-prepared record or properly notarized private document, complete the state request, pay the official fee and arrange return delivery.
Reviewed 2026-10-26. Published instructions can change; estimates are not delivery promises.
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Common questions before sending · Unresolved exceptions · How the Hague apostille route works
Write down the receiving institution, destination country or territory, purpose, exact document, required date range and whether translation is needed. Check the HCCH table's entry-into-force, territorial and objection notes for the transaction date. A country listed as a contracting party can have a future effective date. An apostille certifies origin: signature, official capacity and seal; it does not certify truth, confer a degree, validate a contract or guarantee acceptance. Ask the recipient to identify any exemption before paying. [HCCH-01: Arts. 1-3 and 5; HCCH-02: EIF/EXT/Type.]
For an NH-issued record or an eligible NH notarial act, start with the NH Secretary of State. Residence in New Hampshire, mailing from New Hampshire or a company's NH address does not convert another state's record into an NH record. An FBI report or other federal-issued record follows the federal route. A foreign-issued record brought into NH follows its foreign issuing authority's authentication route when required. For incoming foreign notarial acts, RSA 456-B:6 addresses evidence of the officer's authority; it is not an instruction to obtain an NH apostille on the foreign document. [NH-01: scope; US-01: federal/state branches; NH-14: I-V.]
The Secretary of State's published route requires the signature to have been witnessed by an NH notary public or NH justice of the peace; a notary's seal must appear when a notary signs. Arrange the proper certification with the actual issuer before sending an official record. This does not authorize a private notary to notarize every public record or replace the issuer's certificate. In particular, vital-record preparation is reserved by statute to the division and town/city clerks. The state authenticates the qualifying signature; a notarized cover statement does not automatically authenticate the underlying record. [NH-01: What are the requirements?; NH-02: opening statement; NH-04: I-II; NH-05.]
Use the Division of Vital Records Administration (DVRA) Certificate Application or an authorized NH town/city clerk. State explicitly that an apostille is required and request the original issuer-certified, notarized version. The DVRA form includes an Is Apostille Required? field. Supply the event details, requester's relationship/direct and tangible interest, signed application, legible photo-ID copy and the required payment; use the issuer's alternative-evidence instructions if you lack photo ID. A hospital souvenir, genealogy image or your photocopy is not this certified record. RSA 5-C:98 forbids persons other than DVRA/town-city clerks from issuing, duplicating, sealing or notarizing vital records, subject to its public-domain qualification. [NH-04: I-VI; NH-05; NH-06: Certificate Application; NH-07: pp. 1-2 indexed fields.]
The state application identifies Division of Vital Records Administration, 9 Ratification Way, Concord, NH 03301-2455. For a mailed state request use a check or money order in U.S. funds payable to Treasurer-State of New Hampshire and include a self-addressed, prepaid return envelope. The official certificate page lists a $15 initial record fee, with card transaction expenses separate; a search fee can be nonrefundable even if no record is found. Order through the current issuer page and review the complete current application before mailing. The DVRA fee/packet is separate from the SOS $10 apostille request. Do not send the original identity document when the application calls for a copy. [NH-06: fee; NH-07: address, search/payment/ID/return instructions; NH-03: apostille fee.]
Assume the French recipient needs a recent NH birth certificate with an apostille. Order the $15 initial state certified record, mark apostille required and obtain DVRA's notarized issuer preparation. Then send that original prepared record, the SOS request form, a $10 apostille check and prepaid return materials to the SOS. The two listed government charges total $25, before postage, card costs or extra copies. Check translation and recipient age-of-record instructions separately. France's Convention status does not eliminate the requirement to order the correct record. This is a synthetic example, not a completed customer case. [NH-03; NH-05; NH-06; NH-07; HCCH-02: France/United States rows.]
NH-03 source NH-05 source NH-06 source NH-07 source HCCH-02 source
If the recipient needs evidence of divorce, identify whether it wants the vital-record divorce certificate or the actual final decree and any orders. RSA 5-C:61 permits requests to DVRA or the court granting the divorce, legal separation or civil annulment; town/city clerks cannot issue these certified copies. It expressly permits the court clerk to prepare the apostille record using the RSA 5-C:99 procedure. Give the case number and exact final document, request the apostille-ready original clerk certification and notarized acknowledgment, and confirm any access restriction before paying. Do not order a town marriage record as proof of a divorce. [NH-08: I-VI; NH-05.]
Use the Judicial Branch Request for Certificate or Copy landing page, selecting the current paper or e-file version appropriate to your case, and name the court, case number, document and certified-copy requirement. Ask the clerk to prepare the signature/certification for the NH SOS route instead of adding a private custodian affidavit to a court download. A name-change order, judgment and divorce decree are different documents. Request the current clerk quotation, payment instructions and return method: court fees vary with court/division and requested product, so the $10 SOS fee does not include record search, copying or certification. Restricted/adoption/sealed records require the court's access process. [NH-09: form purpose; NH-01: state court records/requirements; NH-08: divorce-specific procedure.]
Ask the school registrar or records official for the exact official transcript, degree letter or diploma certification required by the recipient and the school's notarization procedure. The issuer's authorized signature must receive the NH notarization/justice-of-the-peace treatment required for the SOS route. A student's statement about a personal printout does not necessarily meet a request for a school-certified academic record. An official electronic transcript sent directly to the receiving university can be a different accepted channel; do not print it and assume it becomes a paper original. [NH-01: Educational documents/requirements; NH-12: For which documents and Notary Requests.]
Dartmouth Arts and Sciences asks you to contact Registrar@Dartmouth.edu with your name while attending, Dartmouth ID if known and/or date of birth to request a notarized transcript or letter of degree. It estimates 1-2 weeks for notarization, then mails the papers to you. It does not notarize diplomas; it offers a notarized degree letter and a Latin-diploma translation letter. Forward the registrar-prepared originals, SOS form, $10 per document and prepaid self-addressed return envelope to SOS. If two separately authenticated documents are needed, the apostille charge is $20, plus any school and shipping charges. These are this registrar's instructions, not a rule for every NH school. [NH-12: document limits, Process, Fees and Checklist; NH-03.]
For a filed formation document, amendment or other registry filing, request the issuer's certified copy by phone or email corporate@sos.nh.gov; identify the entity's legal name, business ID and exact filing. The business FAQ lists $5 certification plus $1 per page. For good-standing/existence evidence use the official Corporations Order a Good Standing Certificate link; choose short or long form to match the recipient. RSA 5:10 lists $5 for an existence certificate and $10 for long form. Tell Corporations that foreign-use authentication is needed and obtain the appropriate original signature/certification and any required notarized acknowledgment before SOS submission. An instant download or registry search printout is not established here as an accepted apostille original. Do not place a personal notarized cover over it as a substitute. [NH-10: certified-copy question; NH-11: order link; NH-03: entity fees; NH-01: signature requirement.]
Assume Corporations confirms the required issuer preparation and a two-page certified filing is the recipient's requested record. The published copy fee is $5 certification plus two $1 pages = $7; one separate $10 apostille brings these listed charges to $17 before postage or other preparation charges. A company resolution or private power of attorney accompanying the filing is a different document: its authorized signatory may need an appropriate notarial act and separate apostille. The company's formation state and the notary's commissioning state can therefore produce two state routes in one package. [NH-10: certified-copy fees; NH-03: apostille fee; NH-01: NH notary/justice requirement.]
Obtain the receiving authority's required wording, signing authority and notarial-act requirement before signing. Complete the appropriate acknowledgment, oath/jurat or other authorized act with an NH notary or justice of the peace, including the completed certificate and required seal, then submit the original executed document. Do not ask a notary simply to stamp an unsigned photocopy or select your legal act for you. A foreign-language document may also need translation under the recipient's rules; translator certification is a separate act. An apostille is not a translation. For electronic or remotely notarized material, establish the exact state-output and recipient-acceptance path before buying a platform session or printing anything. [NH-01: requirements; NH-02: witnessed signature; HCCH-01: Arts. 1 and 5.]
An FBI Identity History Summary, U.S. agency certificate or other federal original is not routed through Concord merely because you live in NH. Follow the U.S. Department of State's federal-document preparation and DS-4194 submission links. Its instructions explicitly warn against notarizing the federal original. Federal fees, mail/counter addresses, timing and emergency appointments belong to that separate process; check the federal current submission page before sending. An NH apostille on your statement about an FBI printout certifies the notarial act rather than the FBI's signature and is not a substitute for federal authentication. [US-01: Preparing your federal document; US-02: request steps.]
Download the Apostille Request Form linked from the official SOS Apostilles and Certificates page. The one-page indexed form uses the same request for Apostille/Certification, describes the NH-notary/justice witnessed document, asks for the country of filing and has printed-name, signature and address fields. Fill every applicable field on the current downloaded version. List each document, intended country, quantity, contact information and return recipient clearly in a cover inventory where needed; keep a copy. Include the original prepared records and the correct check. Our access on 2026-10-26 exposed indexed form text but not the complete PDF/footnotes; use the actual current PDF rather than this guide as the form. [NH-02: indexed p. 1; NH-01: mail submission.]
The ordinary SOS charge is $10 per document, paid in cash or by check payable to State of New Hampshire; use a check for a mailed packet and do not mail cash. One document requiring one apostille is $10; three such documents are $30. Count separate authenticated documents, not envelope count or each page of a multi-page record. School, vital-record, court and company procurement fees, notarization where required, translation and both directions of shipping are additional. Dartmouth's checklist uses Secretary of State of New Hampshire as payee; this guide follows the SOS page/request form's State of New Hampshire. No online card-payment apostille route was verified. [NH-01: fees; NH-02: check instruction; NH-03: Office Fees; NH-12: checklist comparison.]
SOS says a batch of 10 or more needing same-day service incurs $25 per 10, with its examples 10-19/$25 and 20-29/$50. RSA 5:10 instead says expedited service of every 10 documents or any part thereof costs $25. The difference matters for 11-19 and other nonmultiples: obtain a written current fee calculation from administration@sos.nh.gov or 603-271-3242 before preparing the check, and ask whether the office can complete that batch that day. Uncontested worked totals are 10 apostilles at $100 plus $25 expedite = $125, or 20 at $200 plus $50 = $250. This is a disclosed agency/statute discrepancy, not a newly invented surcharge or same-day guarantee. [NH-01: bulk expedited examples; NH-03: final fee clause; NH-13.]
Address the apostille packet to Secretary of State's Office, Apostilles and Certificates, Room 204, New Hampshire State House, 107 North Main Street, Concord, NH 03301. This is the SOS apostille submission location supported by its instructions and Dartmouth's current checklist. It is different from DVRA's 9 Ratification Way record-order address and from a separate Corporations counter. For a courier, use the street address rather than inventing a post-office box; confirm the courier's delivery and return-label requirements. The same apostille office accepts in-person requests Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:15 p.m.; published general office hours can be longer. No ordinary-request appointment requirement was identified in the retrieved instructions. Large batches can require next-business-day completion; check bulk handling before travelling. [NH-01: In person/By mail; NH-12: Checklist/address; NH-07: separate DVRA address; NH-13: general office contact.]
Include a self-addressed, postage-paid envelope sized for the attached certificate and all original pages; use the recipient address you actually want SOS to use, including a designated third party when appropriate. Keep both outbound and return tracking numbers and a copy of the document inventory. A courier account number or credit-card number alone is not a prepaid shipping label. For international return, arrange a carrier-compatible prepaid label and confirm SOS can use that specific service before sending irreplaceable originals; no specific NH international carrier/pickup policy was verified. Do not assume U.S. postage pays for international delivery. If sending from abroad, arrange U.S. payment and the return label yourself or separately hire only the logistics you need. [NH-12: prepaid-return checklist; NH-02: form/return details to check; NH-13: official escalation contact.]
Separate issuer procurement, notarization/preparation, outbound transit, SOS handling, return transit and any translation or recipient review. Dartmouth's 1-2-week preparation estimate precedes the SOS stage. The retrieved SOS instructions discuss counter service and larger batches but do not establish a fixed mail-processing commitment; no 2-day, 5-day or 10-day mail promise is made here. Courier speed does not buy a shorter state queue by itself. Retain delivery proof and payment/inventory details; if the packet is delivered but unresolved, ask the SOS office to locate that identified request using your date, sender, document names and tracking number. Avoid sending a duplicate packet or duplicate payment before checking. [NH-01: submission/batch handling; NH-12: preparation estimate; NH-13: contact.]
If SOS returns the papers, retain its written reason, inventory and payment information. Missing issuer preparation goes back to the issuer; an incomplete notarial certificate goes back to the responsible notary for a lawful correction or new act; a wrong-state/federal record goes to the correct authority. Ask SOS which original, fee and return materials it needs for resubmission; no automatic refund, fee credit or expedited correction was verified. If the foreign recipient refuses a completed packet, request its written reason, named office/reviewer, document/version/translation requirement and escalation contact. Distinguish an informal preference from a formal rejection. Do not detach or alter the apostille, add stamps after completion or reuse it on another document. [NH-01: requirements; NH-04/NH-05: issuer vital-record rules; HCCH-01: Arts. 4-7.]
You can buy the official record and submit to SOS yourself without contacting Notary Geek or purchasing this guide. Greg Lirette / Notary Geek's practical guidance is to separate document preparation, state submission, scan-back and final shipping, and to avoid promising carrier movement before the packet is complete and the carrier cutoff is met. For one correctly prepared document, DIY can be sufficient. A paid reviewer or local runner can add value by checking the actual signature route, obtaining issuer-prepared records, making an authorized physical submission/collection, handling corrections, arranging a usable return label and coordinating split state/federal packages. Those are separately agreed services; this guide does not establish a Notary Geek NH runner, special queue access, guaranteed approval, faster official processing or worldwide shipping availability. A scan-back is a convenience copy, not a true e-Apostille or the physical original. [NH-01/NH-12: direct submission; HCCH-01: issuing-authority role.]
Ask DVRA or the town/city clerk for apostille preparation. RSA 5-C:99 specifies a notarized acknowledgement of the registrar or clerk; do not improvise a private copy certification. [NH-05; NH-04.]
The statute lists $10 for an apostille or notary certificate. Count documents requiring certificates; issuer-copy fees and shipping are additional. [NH-03.]
Resolve the existing guide’s agency-versus-statute bulk-fee discrepancy with SOS before payment. This companion does not choose a disputed rounding rule or promise expedited completion. [NH-01; NH-03.]
A fixed mail-processing promise was not established. Plan procurement, preparation, state handling and both transport legs separately, and ask SOS for its current estimate. [NH-01; NH-13.]
Source confidence: Mixed: controlling NH fee/vital-record statutes and Dartmouth issuer instructions were read in full. Several SOS/court pages and SOS forms were checked only through current official indexed excerpts after 403 retrieval failures. Ordinary direct routes are described with those limits; full form/footnote, corporate output, mail timing and electronic/international qualifications are not claimed.
New Hampshire reserves vital-record issuance and notarization to the authorized division or town/city clerks. The apostille record includes the issuer's signature and notarized acknowledgment before the Secretary of State certificate.
Electronic output: No current affirmative NH e-Apostille issuance or eligible electronic submission/output procedure was established in this review. An electronic notarization, a portal PDF and a scan of a paper apostille are distinct. Obtain the exact SOS and recipient instructions before relying on electronic output; unknown is not a claim of unavailability.
Keep the packet intact: Keep the completed certificate attached to the exact underlying record. Do not remove staples/attachments, replace pages or add stamps after completion. No NH-specific attachment/security feature was independently inspected.
Bracketed source IDs in the guide point to these records. Each record identifies the exact supporting section or PDF page and its checked date. A checked date is an observation, not an effective date or service guarantee.
Optional document review is available only within an agreed paid managed-service scope. This free guide does not include personal DIY consulting.
You can use the official process without hiring Notary Geek. For a simple wet-ink signature, compare your bank or credit union, workplace, neighborhood notary, shipping store or mobile notary. Confirm the fee and the correct notarial act before signing. A notary cannot turn a private photocopy into the issuing office's certified record.
If physical shipping from abroad is the obstacle, separate document preparation, state submission, state return, scan-back and international shipment. A scan is not the physical apostille packet. Any receiving, label, shipping, review or full handled service needs its own agreed scope and price; this guide does not promise those services for every document or a faster state queue.
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