U.S. Marriage Certificate Apostilled for Mexico
If you married in the U.S. and your spouse is applying for family-unity residency, or a notario in Mexico needs to establish your marital status, you will be asked for the certified marriage certificate with the state apostille, translated into Spanish. We handle the copy, the apostille and the translation.
Which Mexican offices ask for this document
These are the most common procedures; the receiving office may ask for more:
Temporary or Permanent Residency in Mexico
- When residency is based on a family tie, the foreign marriage or birth certificate must carry the apostille of the state or province that issued it.
- As a rule, the INM does not ask for an FBI or RCMP check for residency; the consulate or INM office may request additional documents in specific cases.
- Documents in English or French are usually filed with a Spanish translation.
Notary Procedures in Mexico: Property, Estates and Companies
- A power of attorney signed in the U.S. or Canada must be signed before a notary there and apostilled in that same state or province.
- Once in Mexico it is translated by a perito, and the notario usually formalizes it (protocolización) before it is used.
- Have the Mexican notario review the wording before you sign, so it includes the powers the transaction needs.
Registering in Mexico the Birth of a Child Born in the U.S. or Canada
- The child’s (or applicant’s) foreign birth certificate, apostilled by the state or province that issued it.
- Spanish translation by a perito traductor.
- The Mexican parent’s Mexican birth certificate and ID; some registries also ask for the parents’ marriage certificate.
Which version works and which does not
An apostille can only go on a public document with the right signature and seal:
- Certified copy with an official seal, issued by the state or county where the marriage was registered
- Marriage license without the later record of the ceremony
- Ceremonial certificates from the church or officiant
- Photocopies or notarized copies
How to prepare this document
Follow this order so the authority apostilles it and the Mexican office accepts it:
Order a certified copy from the state or county where you married.
Apostille from that state’s Secretary of State.
Spanish translation by a perito traductor.
Which authority apostilles your document?
The apostille comes from a specific office, depending on where the document was issued or signed. Pick your case:
Secretary of State (State of Issuance)
Apostilled by Secretary of State (State of Issuance) (Secretary of State of the issuing state).
Already living in Mexico?
From Mexico, tell us the state and county where you married. We order the certified copy if needed, have it apostilled in that state and send you the certificate with its translation.
1. Online review
Send us a photo or scan of the document. We check the signature, seal and authority before you send anything.
2. Shipping originals
If the procedure needs the original, we tell you how to send it by tracked courier or collect it from your address.
3. Delivery to your door
We send the apostilled document and, if you asked for it, the translation by a perito anywhere in Mexico.
Translation by a perito traductor
Mexican offices usually ask for documents in English or French to be translated into Spanish by a perito traductor authorized by the state judiciary. The translation normally includes the apostille. Each office decides which peritos it accepts: some only take peritos from their own state.
Usual timelines
These are the authorities’ timelines; shipping and translation are on top:
Frequent mistakes and how to avoid them
Handing in the ceremonial certificate instead of the certified registry copy.
Requesting the apostille in Washington, D.C. instead of the state where the marriage took place.
Apostille questions: Marriage Certificate
We married in Las Vegas. Where is the certificate apostilled?
In Nevada, using the certified copy from the county where the marriage was recorded. The state where you live today does not matter.
Will the INM accept the certificate our officiant gave us?
Normally not: the certified record from the state or county is required, apostilled and translated.
Why would Mexico ask for a U.S. marriage certificate?
Most often for family-unity residency with the INM, when one spouse is already a resident or Mexican, and for notary procedures where marital status matters. In both cases it is usually requested apostilled and translated into Spanish.
We help you in Mexico
- Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH): https://www.hcch.net/es/instruments/conventions/specialised-sections/apostille
- Instituto Nacional de Migración (Mexico’s National Migration Institute, INM): https://www.gob.mx/inm
Pre-review: Marriage Certificate
Before any paper moves, we review your document: who issued it, whether the signature and seal can be apostilled and what the Mexican office needs. You get the timeline and a quote in writing.
Pre-review: Marriage Certificate
We check the authority, signature and seal, and send you a quote before you ship the original.