Vermont Vital Records Apostille: Which Office Signs, and in What Order
A Vermont vital records apostille comes from VSARA in Middlesex, acting for the Secretary of State. The town clerk or the Department of Health signs the certified copy first. VSARA charges $10 per apostille and publishes no turnaround time. This guide gives the order of steps, the record-year split that trips people up, and how to run it all from abroad.
- VSARA in Middlesex issues the apostille
- Free document review
- Hablamos Español
- Tewksbury office, Boston area
Three steps, one unusual office
Vermont keeps this simple on paper. A record custodian certifies the copy. VSARA checks that signature and attaches the apostille. Nothing in between. What makes Vermont different is who the custodians are and which of them holds your year.
The order of steps is short. Get a certified copy with an original signature from the town clerk or the Department of Health. Send that original to Middlesex with form VSARA-35 and a check or money order. Then ship the finished set abroad by courier. If the receiving country is not a Hague party, an embassy or consulate step follows. Check the HCCH status table before you assume an apostille is enough.
Vermont vital records at a glance
- Apostille office
- Vermont State Archives and Records Administration (VSARA), Middlesex, issuing for the Secretary of State.
- State fee
- $10 per apostille, paid by check or money order to the VT Secretary of State. No cards.
- Published time
- Not published. Ask VSARA before you promise a date to anyone abroad.
- Who signs the copy
- The town or city clerk, or the Vermont Department of Health Office of Vital Records.
- County step
- None. Vermont does not use a county clerk certification for vital records.
- Refused
- Notarized copies of public records, photocopies and duplicates of a certification.
- Online option
- Add an authentication only while ordering the certified record through the state request service.
A 2018 marriage and a website that points two ways
Picture a woman in Berlin who married in a small Vermont town in 2018. A German residence office wants an apostilled marriage certificate. She reads the state pages. One says the Department of Health issues marriage and divorce records from 2024 forward. Another says VSARA issues them as an agent for 2013 and earlier. Her year sits in the gap, and the pages even overlap for 2014 through 2023.
Nobody should pay anything until that is settled. The town clerk where the marriage was filed keeps the certificate on file, so that office is the safest first call. The State Registrar at the Department of Health can also tell you in one email which office holds your year: vitalrecords@vermont.gov, or 802-863-7275 during Vermont business hours. Vermont is on Eastern time, usually six hours behind Central Europe.
Settle the issuing office by year first. The apostille is the easy part.
Who issues each Vermont record, and what the apostille office wants
| Record. | Who issues the certified copy. | Copy fee. | What VSARA wants. | Watch for. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth. | Town clerk or Department of Health. | $10 ($12 online). | Original certification by the record custodian. No notary. | Ask the receiving office whether it wants the long form. |
| Marriage or civil union. | Town or city clerk, Department of Health (2024 on, earlier years by mail form), or VSARA as agent for 2013 and earlier. | $10 per copy, plus $2 when ordered online from the Department. | Same custodian rule. No county clerk step. | Years 2014 to 2023 overlap on the state pages. Confirm with the State Registrar. |
| Death. | Town or city clerk (from 1 January 1909) or Department of Health. | $10 per copy, plus $2 online. | Certified by the town clerk or State Registrar. | Only family, guardians, court-appointed parties, funeral homes or crematoria may order. Long or short form: confirm with the office. |
| Divorce. | Superior Court, Family Division, for the decree. Department of Health or VSARA for a one-page certificate. | $10 for the certificate. Decree fee: confirm with the court. | Court copy must show the printed name of the court staff member and the date certified. | A notarized copy of a court record is refused. |
These points come from the Secretary of State’s apostille page, the VSARA vital records page and the Department of Health order page, all read in October 2026. Where a cell says “confirm,” the pages do not say, and we will not guess for you.
VSARA in Middlesex, acting for the Secretary of State
Vermont does things differently from most states. The Secretary of State’s apostille page sends requests to VSARA, which issues them on the Secretary’s behalf. The mailing address is VSARA, 1078 U.S. Route 2, Middlesex, Montpelier, VT 05633-7701. The physical address is on the same road in Middlesex, and the office lists a drop box.
The fee is $10 per apostille by check or money order made out to the VT Secretary of State. Cards are not accepted. Use form VSARA-35 for a paper request. The office encourages a preliminary review before you submit, by email at SOS.StatutoryFilings@vermont.gov.
Only original certifications are accepted. A duplicate of a certification is rejected, and so is a notary’s certification of a public record. The VSARA vital records page also explains the online option: an authentication can be added only when you order the certified record through the Vital Records Request Service. Ordered together, the apostille adds $10 on top of the $10 copy.
What the pages do not say: a published processing time, counter hours, whether VSARA returns documents to a foreign address, and which signature of each town clerk it holds on file. Confirm all four with the office.
How a Vermont record travels, step by step
Getting a Vermont record apostilled when you live overseas
You do not need to fly to Vermont. You do need a plan for the paper, because the apostille attaches to an original that has to travel through the US mail system once.
- 1
Pin down the issuer by year and town
Use the table above. If the event falls between 2014 and 2023, email the State Registrar before you order. A wrong office costs weeks, and weeks cost more when each leg is overseas.
- 2
Order the certified copy, preferably with the apostille
The Vital Records Request Service at secure.vermont.gov takes the order online, which suits someone abroad. Ask the service how it ships to a foreign address and whether the apostille add-on can come to you or to a US address. The pages we read do not answer either question.
- 3
Check the identity rules before you pay
Death certificates are limited to family, guardians, court-appointed parties, funeral homes and crematoria. Be ready to show your relationship. If you cannot, we confirm during the free review whether an authorized third party can order for you.
- 4
Use a US address for the middle leg
The original must reach Middlesex through the mail. A practical route is to have it delivered to our Tewksbury office or to a relative, so that nothing irreplaceable crosses an ocean twice. Order the copy first, then send it to us, or let us help obtain it where the state allows.
- 5
Submit with a check or money order
Overseas customers often cannot write a US check. We pay the state fee and include it in one flat quote after the review.
- 6
Ship the finished set with tracking
International couriers take several business days each way, depending on the country and customs. Choose a service with tracking and a signature at the far end. Our online case tracking shows each hand-off from the moment the file opens.
Not sure which step is yours? Call (978) 424-4629 Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm Eastern, or send the details through the application form. The review is free.
Where a Vermont file goes wrong
A notarized copy
Vermont refuses a notary’s certification of a public record. The custodian must certify it. Ask for the town clerk or State Registrar’s original signature.
A photocopy of a certification
Photocopying a certified copy, even a good one, produces a duplicate. VSARA accepts original certifications only.
Guessing by year
The 2013 and 2024 cut-offs leave a murky band of years. Ordering from the wrong agency adds a round of mail.
A card or foreign check
The office takes a check or money order to the VT Secretary of State. Cards are not accepted, and an overseas bank check is a poor fit.
A decree without staff name and date
Certified court records must show the printed name of the court staff member who issued the copy and the date certified.
Trying to add the apostille later
The online authentication is sold only with the order for the certified record. A copy you already hold goes the paper route on form VSARA-35.
Two destinations that ask often
Italy. Italy is a Hague party, so a Vermont apostille is the right authentication. The Italian consulate in Chicago published a checklist, version dated 18 August 2026. It asks for US birth, marriage and death records of the Italian line with an apostille from the issuing state. It also wants a typed Italian translation and long-form certified copies. Eligibility for citizenship by descent changed in 2025 and is a legal question for the consulate. We prepare the paper. We do not decide the claim. Our Italy guide covers the rest.
Portugal. Portugal is a Hague party too. The immigration agency AIMA says documents from Hague countries are recognised by apostille and need a certified Portuguese translation unless they are in English, French or Spanish. Our Portugal guide explains the sequence.
On translation, we can provide ATA certified translations that get notarized. We are not a sworn translator and we do not arrange sworn translations. If your destination demands one, hire a sworn translator there and we ship the apostilled set to them.
What we do, and what it costs
We are a private document preparation and courier service in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, serving Boston and the Merrimack Valley since 2007. We check the record against the Vermont rules in a free document review and tell you which office should issue it. Where the state allows an authorized third party, we help obtain the certified copy. Then we send it to Middlesex and ship the finished set abroad. Each step is tracked in ApostilleDesk.
Our published prices cover Massachusetts: Economy $149.95, Express $199.95 and Rush $385.95 per document, with the state fee and return postage included. They do not apply to Vermont records. For a Vermont document we confirm the state fee and the speed during the review and send one flat-rate quote before you pay anything. See the pricing page and how it works.
We are not affiliated with any state office, school or consulate. Hablamos Español.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get a Vermont record apostilled from abroad?
Order the certified copy from the town clerk or the Department of Health, ideally with the apostille through the state request service. The original has to reach VSARA in Middlesex by mail, so most people route it through a US address, then have the finished set shipped overseas by courier with tracking.
Who issues the apostille on a Vermont marriage certificate?
VSARA, the State Archives and Records Administration in Middlesex, issues it for the Secretary of State. The certificate itself must first be certified by its custodian, which is the town or city clerk, the Department of Health, or VSARA for older records. A notary cannot replace the custodian.
Does Vermont accept a notarized copy of a certificate?
No. The state pages say notary certification of a public record is refused and that only original certifications by the legal record custodian are accepted. Duplicates are rejected as well. If your copy was notarized, request a fresh certified copy from the clerk or the Department of Health.
How much does a Vermont apostille cost?
The state charges $10 per apostille. If you order it with the certified record through the state service, it is added to the $10 copy fee, and the Department of Health adds $2 for online orders. Our own charge for Vermont work is confirmed in the free review and quoted flat before you pay.
How long does VSARA take?
The pages we read do not publish a processing time, so any number you see elsewhere is a guess. Email SOS.StatutoryFilings@vermont.gov for a preliminary review and ask about current turnaround. Add courier days in both directions when you plan a visa or filing deadline abroad.
Which office holds a Vermont marriage record from 2014 to 2023?
The state pages overlap for those years, so ask. The town clerk where the marriage was recorded keeps the certificate, and the State Registrar at the Department of Health can confirm which agency issues your year. Email vitalrecords@vermont.gov or call 802-863-7275 before paying anyone.
What does a Vermont divorce decree need before the apostille?
Request a certified copy from the Superior Court, Family Division. VSARA wants the printed name of the court staff member who issued the copy and the date it was certified. A notarized photocopy will be refused. Confirm the decree copy fee with the court, because the pages we read do not list it.
Who may order a Vermont death certificate?
Family members, guardians, court-appointed parties, funeral homes and crematoria. Expect to show your relationship. If you are abroad and cannot meet that test yourself, ask us during the free review whether an authorized relative or representative can order it for you.
Neighbouring and related guides
From a Vermont town clerk to a desk abroad
Tell us the record, the year and the country. We tell you which Vermont office signs, then handle the paper and the courier.