How to Apostille a Passport Copy in Massachusetts
A foreign bank, registry or employer wants an apostilled copy of your passport. You cannot apostille the passport itself, and a plain photocopy will be refused. Here is the exact sequence that works in Massachusetts, what the notarial certificate has to say and where people get it wrong.
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You apostille a notarized copy, never the passport
An apostille is a certificate attached to a document that authenticates the signature of a public official on it. A United States passport carries no Massachusetts official’s signature, so the Commonwealth has nothing on it to certify. The passport is also a federal document that you are required to keep in your possession. Nobody in Boston or Washington will staple a certificate to it.
What foreign offices mean when they ask for an “apostilled passport” is an apostilled copy. A Massachusetts notary public examines your passport, compares it to a photocopy, and signs a copy certification stating that the copy is true, exact, complete and unaltered. That notarial certificate carries a signature the Secretary of the Commonwealth has on record. The Commissions Section at One Ashburton Place authenticates the notary’s signature, attaches the apostille and the copy becomes a document a foreign bank or registry will accept.
The passport never leaves your hands for more than the five minutes it takes the notary to compare it. That is the point of the process, and it is why a photocopy you made at home and mailed to the state comes straight back.
The apostille authenticates the notary. The notary authenticates the copy. Skip the notary and there is nothing to authenticate.
Why a foreign office wants an apostilled passport copy
The request almost always comes from an office that needs to prove your identity without you being present. These are the situations we see from Massachusetts clients every week.
Opening a foreign bank account
Banks in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Singapore and most of Latin America require an apostilled passport copy for every account holder and every corporate signatory. It satisfies their know your customer rules without a branch visit.
Buying or selling property abroad
A foreign notary handling a real estate closing needs certainty about who the buyer is. Together with an apostilled power of attorney, the passport copy lets a local lawyer sign for you.
Registering a company or a director
Commercial registries want apostilled identification for each director and shareholder. Our corporate documents guide covers the rest of that package.
Visa and residency applications
Golden visa programs, retirement visas and digital nomad permits ask for a certified passport copy alongside an apostilled FBI check and proof of income.
Citizenship and family filings
Registering a child abroad, claiming citizenship by descent or filing an inheritance claim often requires proof of the applicant’s identity in a form the civil registry can keep on file.
Work permits and professional licensing
Licensing boards and employers in the Gulf, Asia and Europe file an apostilled passport copy with the diploma and background check. See our diploma apostille service for the academic side.
How the passport copy apostille works in Massachusetts
1. Decide which pages the destination wants
Most offices want the photo and data page, the two facing pages with your photograph, name, passport number, dates and the machine readable lines. Some want the signature page as well. A few, mostly immigration offices, want every page that carries a stamp or visa. Ask the receiving office before you order, because the notary certifies a specific set of pages and adding one later means starting over. When in doubt, certify the data page and the signature page together. That covers the large majority of requests.
2. Bring the passport to a Massachusetts notary
Copy certification is a recognized notarial act in Massachusetts. The notary has to see the original passport, make or examine the copy, and confirm that the copy is complete and unaltered. Massachusetts notaries may certify copies of a passport because it is not a vital record or a public record that the issuing office would certify itself. That distinction matters: a notary cannot certify a copy of your birth certificate, but a passport copy is fine.
The notarial certificate should show the venue (Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the county), the date, a statement that the attached document is a true, exact, complete and unaltered copy of the original United States passport presented by you, your name, the notary’s signature, the notary’s printed name exactly as commissioned, the commission expiration date and the notary’s seal. If any of those elements is missing, the Commissions Section will refuse the document, and so will many foreign offices even when the state does not.
3. The Commonwealth apostilles the notary’s signature
The notarized copy goes to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Commissions Section, Room 1719 at One Ashburton Place in Boston. The state charges $6 per apostille. Walk-in clients get up to three documents while they wait, anything after 4 p.m. is ready the next business day and mailed requests take two to three weeks. We handle the trip and bring the finished document back to Tewksbury.
4. Translation, if the destination requires it
A passport is mostly numbers and Latin script, so many offices accept the apostilled copy as is. Spain, Italy, Brazil and several Latin American registries want a certified translation of the notarial certificate and the apostille, because those parts are in English. The translation is done after the apostille is attached, so it covers the whole document. We coordinate it when you tell us the destination.
Copy certification checklist
- Venue: Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the county.
- Date the copy was certified.
- “True, exact, complete and unaltered copy” language.
- Your name as it appears in the passport.
- Notary signature, printed name, expiration date and seal.
Six reasons a passport copy comes back unsigned
The copy was made without the notary
Clients mail us a photocopy and ask us to apostille it. We cannot, and neither can the state. The notary must compare the copy to the passport in your presence or make the copy personally. If you are in Massachusetts, visit our office or any commissioned notary. If you are abroad, the nearest United States embassy or consulate can notarize a copy, and that document is authenticated by the U.S. Department of State instead. Our guide for clients abroad explains that route.
The notary wrote an acknowledgment instead of a copy certification
An acknowledgment says you signed something in front of the notary. It does not say the copy is accurate. Foreign banks read the wording and refuse acknowledgments on passport copies. The certificate has to be a copy certification.
The commission had expired
The Commonwealth checks every notary signature against its records. An expired commission is refused at the counter. We check the expiration date before anything moves. Our notarization requirements guide covers the details.
The wrong pages were certified
The bank asked for the data page and the signature page. The notary certified the data page only. The bank asks for a new copy, and the whole process repeats. Confirm the page list in writing before the notary signs.
The name does not match the other documents
A passport in a married name and a diploma in a maiden name will stop a file. If your name has changed, an apostilled marriage certificate or name change decree bridges the gap. Add it to the same order.
The destination is not a Hague country
An apostille is useless in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Vietnam or Egypt. Those countries require embassy legalization instead. We confirm the route before the first fee is paid. Read apostille versus legalization if your country is not in the Hague Convention.
What specific countries expect from a passport copy
The rules below come from the requests we see from Massachusetts clients. Receiving offices change their habits, so we confirm with the office named on your request before the notary signs.
Portugal and Spain
Banks and the tax authorities in both countries accept an apostilled notarized copy of the data page. Spanish notaries handling a property purchase often want a sworn translation of the notarial certificate and the apostille by a traductor jurado. Portuguese banks usually accept the English version, but the AIMA residency process wants a translation certified by a lawyer, notary or the Portuguese consulate.
Italy
Italian banks, comuni and the Agenzia delle Entrate want the apostilled copy with a certified Italian translation. For citizenship by descent the consulate wants the passport copy for the applicant only, not for the ancestors.
Brazil and Mexico
Brazilian cartórios require a sworn translation by a translator registered in Brazil. Mexican notaries and banks want a translation by a perito traductor and often the apostille on the original notarized copy, not on a scan.
Singapore, Japan and South Korea
Banks and corporate registries accept the apostilled copy in English. Japanese offices sometimes ask for a Japanese translation prepared locally.
India
Indian banks, universities and property registrars accept an apostilled passport copy. Some still ask for attestation by the Indian consulate out of habit. The apostille has replaced that since 2005. Our India guide explains how to answer that request.
Driver’s licenses, green cards and state IDs follow the same path
A Massachusetts driver’s license or state ID is a Registry of Motor Vehicles document, and the RMV does not certify copies for apostille purposes. A notarized copy is the route, exactly as with a passport. Our driver’s license apostille guide covers the reasons a foreign office might want one, usually a vehicle registration or an exchange of licenses.
A permanent resident card is a federal document issued by USCIS. Foreign offices sometimes ask for an apostilled copy of it alongside the passport of a non citizen. The notarized copy path works the same way, though a few countries ask for the copy to be authenticated federally. Tell us the destination and we will confirm. Our green card apostille guide has more.
A naturalization certificate is different. Photocopying it is restricted and the federal government will not authenticate a plain copy. That document has its own process, explained in our naturalization certificate apostille guide.
Identity documents and their routes
- U.S. passport
- Notarized copy, Massachusetts apostille
- Foreign passport
- Notarized copy, Massachusetts apostille (the notary certifies the copy, not the passport’s validity)
- MA driver’s license
- Notarized copy, Massachusetts apostille
- Green card
- Notarized copy, Massachusetts apostille, unless the destination asks for federal authentication
- Naturalization certificate
- USCIS certified true copy, U.S. Department of State
What a passport copy apostille costs
The Commonwealth charges $6 per apostille. Our state document service starts at $149.95 per document and includes the copy certification at our office, the trip to One Ashburton Place, courier handling and tracking. If you are already holding a properly notarized copy, the price is the same and we skip the notary step. Translations are quoted per page when the destination requires them.
Families and companies authenticating several passports at once get volume pricing. Every quote is itemized before you pay. See the full pricing page or our guide to what an apostille costs. Documents issued outside New England are routed through our sister service, Apostille Depot, which covers all fifty states.
Get an itemized quoteFrequently asked questions
Can I get an apostille on my actual passport?
No. A passport carries no Massachusetts official’s signature to authenticate, and it is a federal document you must keep. The apostille goes on a notarized copy. A Massachusetts notary certifies that the copy is true and complete, and the Commonwealth apostilles the notary’s signature.
Can I photocopy my passport myself and send it in?
Not for this purpose. The notary must compare the copy to the original passport in your presence or make the copy. A photocopy made at home has no notarial certificate and the state will refuse it.
Which pages should be copied?
Usually the photo and data page. Many banks also want the signature page, and immigration offices sometimes want every page with a stamp or visa. Confirm with the receiving office before the notary signs, because the certification covers a specific set of pages.
Does the apostille prove my passport is valid?
No. It proves that the notary’s signature is genuine and that the notary certified the copy as accurate. The receiving office checks the passport’s validity from the dates on the copy.
Can a foreign passport be copied and apostilled in Massachusetts?
Yes. The notary certifies the copy of whatever passport you present. The Massachusetts apostille authenticates the notary, so it works for a foreign passport as well as a U.S. one, as long as the destination accepts a notarized copy.
I live abroad. How do I get a notarized passport copy apostilled?
Have the copy notarized at a United States embassy or consulate. That is a federal notarization, so it is authenticated by the U.S. Department of State rather than by Massachusetts. We handle that route by mail. Our guide for clients abroad explains it step by step.
How long does it take?
The copy is certified during your visit. The Massachusetts apostille takes about five business days through our standard service, or the same day at the Commonwealth when we rush it. Add two to four business days for a certified translation if the destination requires one.
Do I need a translation?
Not for most English speaking destinations. Spain, Italy, Brazil, Mexico and several other countries want the notarial certificate and the apostille translated, because those parts are in English. We coordinate the translation after the apostille is attached.
Related services and guides
Apostille service near you
Your passport stays with you. The copy travels.
Bring the passport to our Tewksbury office or tell us the destination and we will map the pages, the notarization and the translation before anything moves.
