Does an Apostille Expire? When You Actually Need a New One

What the Hague Conference says

The 1961 Convention doesn't set a validity period for an apostille. The Apostille Handbook puts it this way: a validly issued apostille has effect as long as it can be identified and remains attached to the document. You don't need a new apostille just because a few years have passed.

For the same reason, the Handbook says, a recipient can't reject an apostille solely because of its age. An apostille placed on a marriage certificate 10 years ago is still in effect, as long as it's legible and still attached to the certificate.

The document may have a time limit

Under its own law, the destination country can require a document issued within a certain period. For example, the receiving office may ask for a recently issued criminal background check. An apostille doesn't make an old check any newer: you'd need a new check with its own apostille.

So ask the recipient up front whether the document has to be issued within a certain time frame.

This matters most with an FBI background check. Its apostille comes from the U.S. Department of State, and with shipping the whole process takes 6 weeks or more. If the recipient limits how old the check can be, build those weeks into your plan.

Keep the apostille and the document together

The apostille is attached to the document, and the California Secretary of State does it with a staple. The Handbook says an apostille may be rejected if it has become detached from the document.

Don't separate them yourself, even to scan or copy the document. When we bind a document, we leave the Secretary of State's staple in place, so the apostille stays attached.

Apostille on an expired document

Sometimes it's the other way around: the document itself has expired, like an old criminal record certificate with a set validity period. The Handbook says an expired document can ordinarily still be apostilled as long as it remains a public document, unless the law of the issuing country says otherwise. The apostille certifies only where the document came from. Whether to accept it is up to the recipient.

If you need a new copy

An apostille belongs to one specific copy of a document, so a new background check or a new certified copy of a certificate needs its own apostille.

A California apostille is $120 with the state fee included and takes 1-3 business days. An apostille for a document from another state is $160, and for an FBI background check it's $250. Send us a scan and the recipient's requirement for the issue date, and we'll tell you whether there's enough time.