Notaries
A notary public is an individual issued an appointment by the Secretary of the Department of Financial Institutions to serve the public as an impartial witness, performing notarial acts as are allowed or required by law. For more information on requirements and how to locate a notary please visit the
DFI Notary Public General Information webpage.
Apostilles and Authentications
The Office of the Secretary of State (SOS) processes two types of certifications for documents to be used internationally: Apostilles and Authentications. Both types of certifications have the same requirements, fees, and instructions. This service may be needed for conducting business in another country, getting married outside of the United States, providing or receiving a power of attorney, international students verifying their Wisconsin education, and more. Wisconsin has two competent authorities recognized by the Hague Convention for issuing Apostilles – the SOS and the
Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). Both the SOS and the DFI can issue Apostilles to countries that are approved members of the Hague Convention. Authentications are issued for countries that are not members of the and must be issued by the SOS. For more information, or to order an Apostille certificate from the DFI (not an Authentication), please visit the
DFI Apostille General Information webpage.