Mississippi Vital Records Apostille: $5 Fee, Mail Only, No Personal Checks
A Mississippi vital records apostille comes from the Secretary of State’s Notary Division in Jackson at $5 per document, and the office works by mail. The record comes first, from the Mississippi State Department of Health, which will not take a personal check. Neither office publishes a processing time, and the Secretary of State’s page never mentions marriage or divorce records, so ask before you order anything.
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Two offices, two payees, and one check that bounces back
A typical case: a daughter living in Lisbon needs her late father’s death certificate apostilled for an estate matter. She mails a personal check to the health department in Jackson. The department does not accept personal checks, so the request comes back weeks later. She starts again with a cashier’s check, and the clock restarts.
Mississippi is a state where how you pay matters as much as what you send. The table shows what we found on the official pages.
| Who gets paid | What for | Amount | How to pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State Department of Health, Vital Records | First certified copy of a marriage or death record, search fee kept if no record is found. | $17. | Cashier’s check or money order for marriage. Personal checks are refused. |
| Mississippi State Department of Health, Vital Records | Each additional copy of the same record, ordered at the same time. | $6. | Same instrument as the first copy. |
| Mississippi Secretary of State | The apostille itself, one fee per document. | $5. | The health department page says to enclose a $5 cashier’s check or money order payable to the Mississippi Secretary of State. |
The last row matters. The health department page tells you to include the $5 payment when you order a record for an apostille. How the department forwards the file to Jackson is not spelled out, so call 601-206-8200 before you rely on it.
Mississippi in one block
Apostille birth certificate Mississippi and the other three
Start with the Department of Health for birth, marriage and death. Divorce is the exception, because the court clerk holds the decree and the department holds only an index. Where an official page was silent, the cell says so.
| Record | Who issues the copy | What the copy must show | Copy fee | Extra step first? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | Department of Health, Vital Records in Jackson, with a walk-in counter in Ridgeland. | A certified copy from Vital Records. A notary copy will not do. | $17. | No. The $5 goes to Jackson with the copy. |
| Marriage | Department of Health Vital Records. If the department has no record, the circuit clerk of the county that issued the license. | A certified copy. Cashier’s check or money order only. Mail takes about 7 to 10 business days. | $17 for the first copy, $6 for each additional. | Unclear. The apostille page does not name marriage records. |
| Death | Department of Health Vital Records. Valid photo ID and a tangible interest are required. | A certified copy. The apostille page names death certificates as documents a notary cannot certify. | $17 for the first copy, $6 for each additional. | No. Which registrar signature the office accepts is unconfirmed. |
| Divorce | The chancery clerk of the county that granted the divorce. The department keeps only an index search. | A certified decree from the chancery clerk. Whether Jackson accepts it is unconfirmed. | Index search $17. Decree fee not confirmed. | Possibly. Ask the Secretary of State. |
Notary Division, Jackson: what the page says and what it skips
The Secretary of State’s apostille page says a document must be notarized by a Mississippi notary or bear the signature of a Mississippi public official. It adds that a notary who does not work for the issuing agency cannot certify copies of official documents, and it names death certificates among them. Marriage and divorce records do not appear on the page. That does not mean they are refused. It means we cannot show you a rule, so you should ask the office.
Mail goes to the Notary / Apostille / Authentication desk, P.O. Box 136, Jackson, MS 39205-0136. For a carrier such as DHL or FedEx, the street address is 660 North Street, Jackson, MS 39202, to the same desk. The fee is $5 per document, and the phone line is 601-359-1615. The request form on the state site is marked as revised in 2008, so expect the office to accept it but confirm if anything on it looks out of date.
We found no walk-in service, no processing time and no online or e-apostille option. Plan for mail in both directions, and ask the office for a current estimate.
Jackson to your desk abroad
How do I get a Mississippi record apostilled from abroad?
- 1
Confirm who may order
Mississippi asks for valid photo ID and a tangible interest. From abroad, that means a clear scan of your ID and proof of your relationship. Call 601-206-8200 to ask what they accept.
- 2
Buy the right payment instrument
A cashier’s check or money order, in US dollars, from a US bank or post office. Banks abroad rarely issue them, so a relative or our office may need to help.
- 3
Order the certified copy
Ask the department whether it will pass your file to the Secretary of State. If it will not, ship the copy to a US address first.
- 4
Send the copy to Jackson
Include the request form, the $5 per document and a prepaid return label. Use a tracked carrier to the street address.
- 5
Ship the set abroad
Courier times to Europe are usually a few business days after the office releases the file.
- 6
Mind the clock
Jackson is on Central time. Western Europe is six or seven hours ahead, so phone calls land in the late afternoon there.
Copy first, or us first? Where Mississippi lets an authorized third party request a record, we can help obtain the certified copy, and the free review confirms whether that applies to yours. If you already hold a recent certified copy, send us the copy instead of reordering.
Six common reasons for a delay
A personal check
The health department refuses them. Send a cashier’s check or money order, and match the amount to the number of copies.
A $5 fee to the wrong office
The apostille fee is payable to the Mississippi Secretary of State. Do not make it out to the health department.
A notarized photocopy of a death certificate
The state names death certificates among the records a notary cannot certify. Order the real certified copy.
A decree from the wrong office
The department holds only an index. The decree comes from the chancery clerk, and Jackson’s view of it is unconfirmed.
The 2008 request form
The form is dated. If the office has a newer version, use that one and call to check.
No tangible interest or ID
Vital Records requires valid photo ID and a tangible interest. A request without them is returned.
Italy and Chile: two very different rulebooks
Italy. Italy is a Hague Apostille Convention party, per the HCCH status table. Since the 2025 decree, Italian citizenship by descent turns on narrow categories. The consolidated Italian law sets a cut-off of 27 March 2025 and exceptions for filings before it, and for a parent or grandparent who held exclusively Italian citizenship. Confirm you qualify before you spend money on apostilles. The Chicago consulate checklist, dated August 2026, wants US records of the Italian line with a state apostille and a typed Italian translation, and it says the apostille needs none.
Chile. Chile is a contracting party too. The migration service’s retiree and rentista page says foreign documents must be apostilled or legalized, and that public documents should be attached within 60 days of issue unless the document sets its own validity. English documents need no translation, and other languages need an official one. Check which items on your permit list fall under that window.
If a country requires a sworn translation, you hire a sworn translator there. We can provide ATA certified translations that get notarized, but we are not a sworn translator and we do not arrange sworn translations.
What we handle, and the price
We prepare documents and run couriers from Tewksbury, Massachusetts, just outside Boston. For a Mississippi record we read your file first, free of charge. We then say who should issue the copy, how to pay, whether Jackson will take it, and we ship the finished set abroad. The posted prices of $149.95 Economy, $199.95 Express and $385.95 Rush are for Massachusetts apostilles, per document, with the state fee and return postage included.
A Mississippi order is quoted separately after the review. We confirm the state fee and speed and send one flat-rate quote before you pay. See pricing, how it works and the application form. Call (978) 424-4629 on weekdays from 10am to 5pm Eastern. Hablamos Español.
We are a private service with no tie to the Mississippi Secretary of State, the health department or any consulate. Clients abroad have used us since 2007.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Mississippi vital records apostille cost?
The Mississippi Secretary of State charges $5 per document. The Department of Health charges $17 for the first certified copy of a marriage or death record and $6 for each additional copy ordered at the same time. Our quote for the full service comes after a free review.
How long does the Mississippi apostille take?
Neither office publishes a processing time. The health department says mail orders for marriage copies take about 7 to 10 business days. We found no stated time for the Notary Division, so ask the office for a current estimate before you plan around a deadline.
How do I get a Mississippi record apostilled from abroad?
Buy a cashier’s check or money order, order the certified copy from the Department of Health, and send it to the Notary Division in Jackson with the request form and the $5 fee. We can handle the steps after a free review and ship the result to you.
Does Mississippi accept personal checks for vital records?
No. The Department of Health refuses personal checks and asks for a cashier’s check or money order. For the $5 apostille fee, the health department page says to enclose a cashier’s check or money order payable to the Mississippi Secretary of State.
Can a notary certify a Mississippi death certificate for an apostille?
No. The Secretary of State says a notary who does not work for the issuing agency cannot certify copies of official documents, and its page names death certificates. Order a certified copy from the Department of Health instead.
Where do I get a Mississippi divorce decree?
From the chancery clerk of the county that granted the divorce. The Department of Health keeps only an index search for $17. Whether the Secretary of State accepts the chancery clerk’s certified copy for an apostille is unconfirmed, so ask the office before you pay.
Can I visit the Secretary of State in person?
We found no walk-in service for apostilles, and the Department of Health lists its walk-in counter at Ridgeland. The Notary Division gives a mailing address and a carrier address in Jackson. Call 601-359-1615 to ask whether visits are possible.
Is there an e-apostille for Mississippi documents?
We found none. The Secretary of State’s page does not mention an online or electronic apostille, so treat the process as paper only. Keep tracking numbers for each leg, and confirm with the office if your destination demands an electronic record.
From Jackson to a desk abroad
Give us the record, the county and the country. We read your file for free, check the Mississippi fee and speed, and send one flat-rate quote first.