Massachusetts Vital Records Apostille: Order of Signatures, $6 Fee and Wait Times
A Massachusetts vital records apostille starts with a certified copy carrying a raised seal, issued by a city or town clerk or the state registry. The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Commissions Section then adds the apostille for $6 a document. The state posts no mail turnaround, but a walk-in counter handles up to three documents while you wait. Here is the order, the cost and what gets a file refused.
Who stamps a Massachusetts record, and in what order
Massachusetts keeps vital records in two places. Each city and town clerk holds the births, marriages and deaths of its own residents and events. The Registry of Vital Records and Statistics holds the statewide copies. Either one can sign a certified copy that the apostille office accepts.
Only one office can apostille. The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s brochure describes itself as the only office in Massachusetts authorized to issue an apostille or certification for a document going to a foreign country. Its request form lists the signatures it will authenticate, and a city or town clerk, a court clerk and the registrar of vital records are all on the list.
So the order is short. Certified copy first. Apostille second. Translation, if the destination wants one, last. A divorce is the exception to the vital records pattern, because the court that granted it keeps the file.
Order the copy for the destination’s rules, not for the cheapest option. A short form that is refused abroad costs you the whole trip again.
Birth, marriage, death and divorce in Massachusetts
Each record starts at a different desk. Fees marked “confirm” come from search excerpts of mass.gov, which blocked our automated fetch in October 2026.
| Record | Who issues the certified copy | Copy fee | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | City or town clerk where the birth was recorded, or the Registry in Dorchester | Boston $12 at the counter and $14 online or by mail. Registry $20 counter, $32 mail, confirm. | Raised seal, registrar’s signature, long form if the destination wants parents named. |
| Marriage | Clerk of the city or town where the license was filed, or the Registry | Boston $12 or $14. Other towns vary, confirm with the clerk. | The license location decides the clerk, not the ceremony. Parents’ marital status can restrict access. |
| Death | City or town clerk, or the Registry | Boston $12 or $14. Registry $20 or $32 (confirm). | Not pending. Long or short form is unconfirmed, so ask the receiving authority. |
| Divorce | Probate and Family Court of the county where it was entered | $20 for a judgment of divorce nisi or certificate of divorce absolute, confirm | Docket number needed. Whether a Register of Probate’s signature is accepted alone is unconfirmed. |
The Secretary’s brochure still says to ask a district court clerk for a divorce decree. That wording is out of date for divorces. Use the Probate and Family Court and ask the Commissions Section about the signature. Our pages on the birth, marriage, death and divorce services go deeper on each.
The Commissions Section, in detail
The office sits at One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, MA 02108. The telephone is 617-727-2836, the fax is 617-727-5914 and the email is comm@sec.state.ma.us. Payment is by check or money order made out to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, $6 for each document.
The request form accepts mailed or hand-delivered requests at any of three offices. Besides Boston, the Secretary lists 436 Dwight Street, Room 102, Springfield (413-784-1376) and 218 South Main Street, Suite 206, Fall River (508-646-1374). The return options are pickup, first-class mail with your own stamped envelope, or express mail on a label you prepay. Tick nothing and the order sits at the office.
Counter rules, as written
Two sources, two wordings. The printed form forces a batch of four or more into an overnight stay. The Secretary’s web page, which we only saw as a search excerpt, speaks of a three-document limit for service while you wait and a late-afternoon cutoff. Weekday hours in that excerpt run from 8:45 to 5:00. Call before you plan a trip around any of it.
Mail from abroad and e-apostille
Nothing official we read states a mail turnaround, so any figure you see is a typical one, commonly two to three weeks. We found no e-apostille or online request for Massachusetts. Only mail and hand delivery are described, so mark that as unconfirmed. Because the express return needs a prepaid label, a request from overseas has to arrive with a courier label that works in the United States.
How a Massachusetts record travels
Four stops for most records. A divorce adds a court at the front.
Getting a Massachusetts record apostilled from another country
A typical case: a teacher in Valencia needs a marriage certificate and a birth certificate for a residence application. Neither paper is in her apartment, and she does not want to mail an original across the Atlantic.
- 1
Settle the version
Ask the receiving authority whether it wants a long form, how old the copy may be and whether a translation is required. Do this before you pay for anything.
- 2
Order the certified copy
Boston and the state Registry both take online orders. Use a US delivery address, such as a relative’s or ours. If the parents were unmarried at the birth, only the people named on the record may ask, so check eligibility first.
- 3
Send it, or let us collect it
Where the issuing office lets an authorized third party request the copy, we can help. The free document review settles that, and we do not offer more than the office permits.
- 4
We review the copy
Raised seal, signature, correct name, correct type. A problem found in Tewksbury costs days, not weeks.
- 5
Filing at the Commissions Section
We file in Boston and track it in ApostilleDesk. The state fee is $6 per document.
- 6
Ship with tracking
The apostilled set goes to your address abroad by DHL, FedEx or UPS. Allow several business days, and schedule calls with US offices for your morning, which is their middle of the night.
Add the stages for a rough plan. Boston’s own pages put online copy processing at two to three business days. The state Registry’s online route was listed at 7 to 10 business days in an excerpt, with confirm attached. Then comes the apostille, then the courier. Read our guide to apostilles while abroad for the tracking and customs side.
Six reasons a Massachusetts file is refused or delayed
A notarized photocopy
A photocopy with a notary stamp is not a record. The office wants the certified copy itself, signed by the registrar or clerk.
The wrong level of government
Federal papers and records from other states are outside what this office can stamp. A Florida record in the same envelope slows the whole batch.
The wrong divorce source
An old brochure points to a district court clerk. Use the Probate and Family Court, and ask about the Register of Probate’s signature.
A pending death certificate
Boston marks a death record pending until the Medical Examiner finishes, and warns that some insurers and banks refuse it.
The wrong payment or return
The fee is check or money order. Cash is not recommended. An express return needs a prepaid label, or the order waits for pickup.
A copy that is too old
The state sets no age limit we found. The destination often does. Check the receiving authority, as the Spain example below shows.
Two destinations, two sets of rules
Spain
Spain is an Apostille Convention party, in force since 1978. The Spanish consulate in Boston, on its non-lucrative visa page as we read it in October 2026, wants family documents such as a marriage certificate apostilled and dated within the past 12 months. Birth certificates are excluded from that window. The FBI check on the same checklist is a federal document that goes to the US Department of State instead, as covered on our FBI apostille page. The consulate asks for a translation by a sworn or certified translator for that record. Confirm all of this with your own consulate.
Italy
Italy is a party too, in force since 1978. The Italian consulate in Chicago published a checklist dated 18 August 2026 saying US birth, marriage and death records need an apostille from the issuing state’s Secretary of State, a typed Italian translation and long-form certified copies. That is one consulate’s rule. Italian citizenship rules also changed in 2025, which makes eligibility a legal question we cannot answer. Our guide to citizenship by descent documents lists the records usually collected.
What we do for you and what it costs
Our office is a private document preparation and courier service in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, working with Boston and the Merrimack Valley since 2007. No state office, school or consulate is affiliated with us. We check the certified copy, fix the routing, deliver to the Commissions Section, follow the order and ship the finished set, abroad if needed.
- Economy, $149.95 per document: usually one to two weeks.
- Express, $199.95 per document: two to five business days.
- Rush, $385.95 per document: our fastest level, usually one to two days for Massachusetts and New Hampshire documents.
Those are Massachusetts state apostille prices. They include the state fee and return postage. Transit is extra. A record from another state gets its own flat-rate quote, after the free document review confirms that state’s fee and speed.
See pricing and how it works, or call (978) 424-4629, Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm Eastern.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get a Massachusetts record apostilled from abroad?
Order a certified copy to a US address, then have it filed with the Commissions Section in Boston, either by mail with a prepaid return label or through a service like ours. We review the copy, file it and ship the apostilled set to you with tracking.
Who apostilles a Massachusetts birth certificate?
Only the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Commissions Section. The city or town clerk, or the state Registry, issues the certified copy first. The state fee is $6 per document, paid by check or money order.
How long does a Massachusetts apostille take?
The official pages we read give no mail turnaround, and industry pages say two to three weeks. A walk-in counter handles up to three documents while you wait, per a search excerpt. Phone 617-727-2836 for today’s practice.
Which office issues a Massachusetts divorce decree copy?
The Probate and Family Court of the county where the divorce was entered, not a vital records office. A search excerpt of mass.gov lists $20 for the certified copy. Ask the Commissions Section whether a Register of Probate’s signature is accepted alone.
Does a long-form or short-form record matter?
It often does for the destination, not the state. Many foreign authorities want the long form showing parents. For Massachusetts death records the form rule is unconfirmed, so ask the receiving authority and the issuing clerk before ordering.
Is there an online or e-apostille option in Massachusetts?
We found no official page describing one. The Secretary’s pages describe mail and hand delivery only. That point is unconfirmed, so check with the Commissions Section. Our online order form is for opening your file with us, not a state e-apostille.
What does the apostille office refuse?
Notarized copies of government documents, federal documents and documents from other states. It authenticates only listed signatures, such as a notary, a city or town clerk, a court clerk or the registrar of vital records.
Keep reading
From a Massachusetts clerk to a desk overseas
Tell us the record, the town and the country. We review the copy, file it at the Boston counter and ship the apostilled set. Call (978) 424-4629, Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm Eastern.