Congratulations, you got married! Now what?
If you are intending to use your marriage certificate in a country other than the USA, you will almost certainly need to apostille your wedding certificate.
There are a few ways to get this done. Currently, the best and likely fastest option is to order your document through Utah County. See how much this might cost to get your apostilled copies.
You can also DIY by requesting extra copies of your wedding certificate from Utah County yourself -you will get one paper copy by default after we complete your wedding and then sending those copies to get the apostille. Finally, you can use another third-party service, these instructions are listed on this page below the DIY steps, but they also have to start with original, paper copies so it may not be faster or less expensive.
Regardless of how it is done, the process to apostille a document is not online, and can only be handled through obtaining the certified paper documents and mailing or shipping the documents to the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s physical office. Their website is here https://authentications.utah.gov but is not terribly informative about the process.
The Best Option – Order from Utah County Clerk of the Court
You can request an apostille through Utah County immediately following the completion of your wedding ceremony and the recording of your wedding license. Please note that getting your documents through this service can take up to 15-30 business days to complete. In real time, this can translate to up to 3-6 weeks or more depending on when you request the documents.
You can see how it’s done on my step-by-step “How to Order” page. I have also published a “How much does it cost” page detailing their fees and providing examples. The Utah County fees are likely the least expensive that you will find – however they do not offer expedited document processing services. If you are sending to the US, you can pay for faster shipping, but not faster document processing.
The international shipping fees may be more expensive than if you order the copies and send them yourself through another carrier such as USPS in the United States.
You may wish to order two or more copies if your spouse is located in another country so that you both have a complete, original apostilled document, or if you would like a backup copy for safekeeping.
>> How to order your Apostille from Utah County – Step by Step with images and pricing lists
Do It Yourself Option
Step 1 – Gathering The Documents
- Include a printed and completed Request Form from the Lieutenant Governor’s site.
- Include the certified paper copies of your wedding certificate. The authentications office will only accept an original paper stamped and sealed copy of your wedding certificate. You may wish to order and apostille two separate copies from Utah County so that you and your partner will both have an original document.
Step 2 – Payment and Processing Options on the Request Form
There are several ways to pay for your apostille, but first you have to decide how fast you want the document to be processed. These are the options listed on the request form. Any processing time will only be counted from when their office gets the document, which may vary based on how you shipped it to them. See Step 3 below for a discussion on shipping.
Please note that each fee is per document so you need to double the fee cost if you are getting two copies.
- Normal processing time – 3-5 business days – $20
- Next Business day (after receipt of the document) – $55
- Same Business day (after receipt of the document) – $95
You’ll write in your credit card information (they accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express) on the request form and they will process your payment based on your choices when you filled out the document. . Please use a card which you know will have the funds available to avoid delays.
You can also pay via :
- Money Orders made payable to “State of Utah”
- Checks made payable to “State of Utah”
- Cash (please note sending cash in the mail is not advised)
Step 3 – Shipping and return
There are many ways to get your document to their office and to get it back. It is highly advised that you use a service that provides tracking of your shipment. When you send your wedding certificate and your request form and payment as detailed in the first two steps, your final choice is to decide how to send and return the document to yourself. Please note that you can also “return” the document to any address, including an international one.
In all cases, you should include a self-addressed envelope for the return of your documents.
If you need the document quickly, and to ensure document tracking, you can use a private service such as FedEx, UPS or other postal service like Priority Mail in the USA.
For instance, if you wanted expedited processing, you could FedEx a document with their guaranteed morning delivery which would get the document to their office before 10:30 am on a business day, whereas a postal mail document may not arrive until later in the day and wouldn’t be eligible for same day processing until the next business day. You also need to take into account weekends and holidays.
Please note that Utah observes an extra holiday called Pioneer Day which is typically on or near July 24th (in 2023 it is observed on July 24th) and all official state offices are closed for this holiday.
Sending the document will change based on which service you choose.
For FedEx or other private courier or service, send your documents to:
State of Utah, Office of the Lieutenant Governor
350 N. State Street, Suite 220
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114
NOTE: If you are using UPS or another service you may need to request a pickup of your documents at their office.
For postal mail or non-courier service send your documents to:
State of Utah, Office of the Lieutenant Governor
PO Box 142325
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114
Option Two – Use a Service
There are a LOT of services out there that will charge you lots of money to process an apostille for you. They can offer you document tracking and complete service, but they are essentially doing the same thing that you can do yourself via regular postal mail or courier or by ordering through Utah County.
So it is up to you if you want the extras or just need someone to take care of it for you if you do not have the time to do it. Be aware that you will still need to order the original paper certified copies from Utah County to send to them!
I do not offer any apostille services myself.
Private Apostille Services
These are private services which will do the apostille process for you. I cannot recommend one over the other so please take some time to check them out and decide which is right for you. They all require mailing an original, certified paper copy to them which adds to the processing time, so be aware of that before you pay.
Here is a list of countries that may accept apostille copies for wedding certificates as per the the Hague Convention of 1961 – but be aware you may need to research individual countries’ requirements.