Free North Dakota DIY guide
Prepare your own North Dakota apostille or certification: obtain the correct certified public record or complete the required private notarial act, calculate the state charge, submit originals and arrange return delivery.
Reviewed 2026-10-26. Published instructions can change; estimates are not delivery promises.
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Preparation summary checked 2026-10-28. Use the detailed guide below for document-specific prerequisites and unresolved exceptions.
Official preparation source, checked 2026-10-28 · Apostille foundations and destination routing
The page welcomes walk-ins and encourages booking or calling. Confirm hours and your packet’s needs; no same-day completion entitlement is stated. [ND-90.]
SOS says satisfactory, correctly paid requests are usually processed within three business days. That excludes procurement, corrections and return transport. [ND-90.]
Optional assistance does not change document eligibility or the state queue. Check the remaining exceptions before paying or shipping.
Ask the receiving office for its written document list, destination country or territory, required record version/age, translation rules and paper or electronic delivery. An apostille verifies the public signature, official capacity and seal, not the truth of the document or eligibility for a visa. Check the HCCH table for entry into force with the United States, applicable territory and objections; being listed as a contracting party alone is insufficient. Where the Convention applies, do not add embassy legalization automatically; outside it, establish the actual authentication and consular sequence with the destination authority. [HCCH-01: Arts.1-3,5,9,12; HCCH-02: EIF/EXT/objections.]
North Dakota SOS authenticates North Dakota issuer-certified records or North Dakota notarial signatures. An Iowa birth record stays with Iowa even if its owner lives in Fargo. A private power of attorney signed before a Florida online notary ordinarily follows the Florida notarial signature, even when the signer is in North Dakota or abroad. A North Dakota-recognized foreign or tribal act does not automatically become a North Dakota SOS apostille route. Incoming foreign-issued records generally need authentication from their origin authority, not a new North Dakota cover sheet. Domestic use in the United States is not a foreign-use apostille request. [ND-01: authority and original-document requirements; ND-20: sections-10 to -13; HCCH-01: Arts.1-2.]
For birth/death, marriage, court and filed business records, obtain the issuing custodian's certified record rather than notarizing a photocopy. ND law restricts notarial copy certification of vital, recordable and officially sealed public records; SOS also lists college transcripts among recordable-document examples. For an affidavit, consent, power of attorney, private corporate resolution or translator declaration, the relevant person completes the appropriate notarial act. A notarized custodian cover page authenticates that private act; it does not convert the underlying record into an issuer-certified record. The school-official process below is a specific SOS instruction, not permission for arbitrary cover sheets. [ND-19: Copy Certifications; ND-20: section-23(7); ND-01: School Records.]
Use HHS Birth Records and its current mail form SFN 8140, revised 10-2025, or the official online-order link. Select Certified for official use, not genealogy. It costs $15 per copy. Eligible requesters ordinarily are the named person aged 16 or over or a listed parent; others need the stated court order or authorized-representative documentation. For a deceased subject, use HHS's special relationship/death-evidence rules. Enter the full name, date/place, parents, quantity, relationship, contact/return details, and sign/date. Supply one acceptable primary ID or two different secondary IDs; read both sides of the current form. The form also allows a fully notarized application as an identification alternative, whereas the web summary lists IDs only: confirm that alternative before relying on it. This is application identity proof, not notarization of the issued birth certificate. [ND-03; ND-04; ND-05: pp.1-2.]
HHS distinguishes Complete, Facts of Death and Informational certified records; eligibility and sensitive fields differ. Select the version required by the foreign office and supported by your relationship/authority, then complete SFN 5531, revised 10-2025, with identity evidence or the form's notarized-application alternative. First copy costs $15; additional same-record copies in the same order cost $10 each. Both current birth and death forms list free First Class return, FedEx $25 (add $5 Alaska/Hawaii), UPS $30, and FedEx/UPS international $100. Carrier return needs a street address: FedEx/UPS cannot deliver to U.S. PO boxes. Check destination service before buying international return; these issuer charges are separate from SOS fees. [ND-06: types/eligibility/fees; ND-08: pp.1-2; ND-05: shipping fields.]
For paper birth/death requests, send the completed signed form, eligibility/ID material and check or money order payable to ND DHHS, including the selected issuer shipping charge, to Department of Health and Human Services, Vital Records, 600 East Boulevard Ave. Dept. 325, Bismarck ND 58505-0250. Do not substitute Dept 108: that is SOS. Current birth/death forms agree on ND DHHS; older cached forms using former Department of Health names or different shipping prices should be replaced. HHS does not fax/email the certified paper record. For another person to obtain a record, its one-time authorization SFN 58698 needs the eligible authorizer's notarized signature plus the designee's completed request and current photo ID; authorization does not waive eligibility. [ND-04: mail steps; ND-05: p.2; ND-07; ND-08: p.2; ND-09: p.1.]
ND-04 source ND-05 source ND-07 source ND-08 source ND-09 source
For a new birth/death order, HHS offers a two-agency route: put the apostille request and destination country in the online comments or on the bottom of the paper application. Give usable phone/email contact details. After issuing the record, HHS contacts SOS; SOS contacts you to confirm and collect its separate authentication fees. The completed order returns using the shipping choice on your vital request. Pay the vital-record fee to HHS; do not assume it includes SOS or send an unrequested combined payment. If you already possess a suitable certified record, prepare an ordinary SOS request instead. No equivalent automatic forwarding is established here for marriage, divorce or business records. [ND-10: complete two-agency instructions.]
HHS's general page currently says 5-7 business days after receipt; birth/death FAQs say 3-5 business days before mailing. Carrier orders are described as next-business-day handling on those FAQs, while the 10-2025 forms promise same-day processing if received before 10 a.m. Central, otherwise next business day. Treat these as inconsistent published estimates, use the slower 5-7-day allowance for planning, and confirm urgent arrangements with Vital Records. Web Order Pickup is offered after online ordering and readiness email, usually under two hours according to FAQs; bring the ID used to order. Other in-person appointments must be arranged in advance at 701-328-2360. Issuance, interoffice coordination, SOS and outbound transport remain separate. [ND-02; ND-03: timing/pickup; ND-06: timing/pickup; ND-05/ND-08: p.2 cutoff.]
ND-02 source ND-03 source ND-06 source ND-05 source ND-08 source
HHS does not issue North Dakota marriage certified copies. Use its Marriage Records county directory to locate the office in the county where the license was originally purchased and filed; that office may be a recorder, clerk or another named county custodian. Request a certified copy of the completed recorded marriage, with the spouses' names and marriage/license details; ask the county for its current application, eligibility, per-copy charge, accepted payment and postal/courier delivery instructions. Fees vary by county, so a new marriage-license application fee is not the copy fee and no statewide copy price is stated here. Receive the official certification, check the names, then send the original certified copy to SOS. [ND-11: opening rule and county contacts; ND-01: certified official documents.]
Use HHS's divorce directory or the Judiciary's county clerk locator for the court/county holding the decree. Provide case number, parties, exact document title/index number and filing date; ask for an original paper certified copy suitable for foreign authentication. A free electronic case-search image is not a paper certified copy. The district-court fee schedule effective 2025-07-01 lists $20 for the first certified judgment/order/other filed paper and $10 for additional copies of the same document, with no per-page certified-copy fee; exceptions include certain protection-order copies for the protected person. Request the clerk's accepted payment, postage and release procedure; sealed/adoption records may need access authority. Do not obtain a separate notary stamp over the clerk's certification. [ND-12; ND-13: copies/clerks; ND-14: p.5 section VI.1 and p.6 exceptions; ND-01.]
Search the correct entity in FirstStop. For a Certificate of Good Standing, SOS directs a Request Certificate form in FirstStop and a $20 fee. For a Certificate of Fact, use the email/phone contact on Maintain Registration: $15 for trade/fictitious partnership names, $20 for other business structures, payable by card over the phone or check, cash or money order. These certificates are different from certified articles or a particular filed amendment. For certified filings, use SOS Copy Requests on its Contact page, specify the entity/file number, exact filing and number of certified sets, state the foreign destination and ask for an itemized copy/certification/authentication and return quote before payment. No current per-page certified-filing fee was established by the inspected guidance; do not apply a vendor's flat price or assume a downloaded status page is the required original. [ND-15: Verification Requests; ND-16: Copy Requests; ND-24: general fees.]
An operating agreement, board resolution, authorization or beneficial-owner statement may be privately created rather than filed with SOS. Have the authorized signer execute the correct representative-capacity notarial act where required by the receiving office; do not describe the resulting notarial apostille as a certificate that SOS checked the company's ownership. SOS expressly warns that business registrations and ordinary annual reports do not necessarily establish owners. A registered agent is a contact/service-of-process role, not automatically the custodian who can issue certified state filings. A mixed company packet can therefore combine issuer-certified filings with separately notarized private statements. [ND-15: Business Ownership Verification; ND-19: act/certificate guidance. Role explanation is practical routing guidance.]
SOS prescribes an original acknowledgment page listing the attached school copies, signed before a notary by the principal or someone with equivalent authority, then stapled to those copies. Possible attachments include transcript, diploma or an official sealed school letter identifying the student and completion of requirements. Ask the registrar or school custodian for this authentication preparation, not a generic notary certification of your photocopy. Include destination, contact and return instructions and confirm how many separately authenticated packages the recipient needs. SOS charges per authentication, so a school's combined package and two separate records may have different totals. [ND-01: Authentications of School Records; ND-19: Copy Certifications.]
NDSU directs official transcript and original diploma ordering through Campus Connection/Parchment with Print & Mailed delivery to Registration and Records, Attn: Apostille Request, NDSU Dept. 2801, PO Box 6050, Fargo ND 58108-6050. Send its destination/contact/return letter and check or money order for $15 U.S. funds payable to ND Secretary of State. NDSU prepares and forwards the packet; its full-process estimate is 4-6 weeks. Because it lists both records but one $15 check, confirm whether it creates one authentication package before requesting separate apostilles. UND uses its linked Apostille Order Form, charges $50 for preparation/notarization and sends a notarized diploma, transcript and authentication letter to SOS; arrange the additional SOS payment and return separately. School fees and state fees are distinct. [ND-17: Instructions/Ordering/Processing; ND-18: How to Obtain.]
Choose the appropriate act from the recipient's instructions before signing; an acknowledgment, sworn verification and signature witnessing are different acts. Appear by a legally supported method and supply acceptable identity evidence. For paper acts, check a contemporaneous certificate with venue, act/date, notary signature/title, commission expiration and required official stamp; the certificate must be part of or securely attached to that document. A bare signature and stamp are insufficient. Use SOS's examples and NDCC 44-06.1-14/-15; ask the performing notary to correct a defect through a proper process. Do not complete or backdate its certificate yourself. ND notarial act fees are capped at $5 per act; separately agreed travel/technology charges may apply. [ND-19: Certificates; ND-20: sections-14,-15,-28; ND-21.]
North Dakota allows electronic/remote notarization under specific requirements, including required remote wording and prior notary notification. That does not establish a true electronic apostille or automatic acceptance of an ordinary customer printout. NDCC 44-06.1-03(4) addresses a notarial officer's certification that a tangible copy accurately reproduces an electronic record; -18(3) addresses recorder acceptance. These are not a blanket SOS apostille instruction. Ask SOS for written preparation/acceptance instructions for the exact electronic original and proposed paper certification before relying on it, and preserve the electronic evidence. A signer's address does not move an out-of-state notarial signature into North Dakota jurisdiction. [ND-20: sections-03(4),-13.1,-18; ND-22; ND-01: original-document requirement.]
The current SOS page asks for a letter, not a linked general apostille application PDF. Write your full name, daytime phone/email, destination country, inventory of the enclosed documents and whose official/notarial signatures appear, the number of authentications requested, and exact return name/address and delivery choice. These contact/inventory fields make the request matchable; the country is an express SOS requirement. For school packages, SOS explicitly requires contact and return instructions. Enclose the original completed notarized document or original issuer-certified copy, payment and a usable prepaid/pre-addressed label if requesting expedited return. Keep a scan and tracking reference before shipping. [ND-01: submission and school cover letter. Inventory/retained-copy advice is practical preparation.] SOS recommends preliminary review by emailing the documents and contact details to its Notary Unit before originals are mailed; that review does not replace submission of originals or establish recipient acceptance. [ND-01: preliminary review.]
The published formula is $10 per authentication plus $5 per record search. SOS specifies one search for each unique notary: two documents notarized by one notary need $20 + $5 = $25; two documents notarized by two different notaries need $20 + $10 = $30. Add procurement, private notarization, translation and outbound/return delivery separately. For an issuer-certified vital/court/company record or a multi-signature package, ask SOS to confirm the relevant search count: its current examples describe notaries and do not explicitly resolve every public-official certification. Budget $10 per requested authentication plus the confirmed $5 search units; do not silently charge every document $15 or waive the search. [ND-01: fee examples; ND-24: section 54-09-04(1)(a)-(b). Arithmetic is worked illustration.]
For a conventional mailed school request, NDSU publishes check or money order in U.S. funds payable to ND Secretary of State. That is an official institution's concrete SOS payment instruction. The general SOS apostille page lists the fee but omits method/payee details; use the Notary Unit at 701-328-2900 or sosaccnot@nd.gov to confirm an unusual payment, card, foreign-funded instrument or non-school order before sending originals. A generic SOS card authorization SFN 51478, revised 02-2016, exists but its existence alone does not establish a current apostille card submission channel; never email card details. On HHS's coordinated birth/death route, await SOS's collection contact instead of assuming the vital payment covers it. No general online apostille filing or payment portal was verified. [ND-17: item 4; ND-01; ND-10; ND-16. Card form is ND-25.]
ND-17 source ND-01 source ND-10 source ND-16 source ND-25 source
SOS publishes one submission address: North Dakota Office of the Secretary of State, 600 East Boulevard Avenue, Dept 108, Bismarck ND 58505-0500. This is the state-capitol street address, not the Vital Records Dept 325 address or a PO box. No separate courier-only address was stated on the inspected apostille page; use its full street/department address and verify carrier access before shipping. For counter help, the page welcomes walk-ins during business hours without an appointment and also recommends booking/calling the Notary Unit; an appointment is encouraged, not stated as mandatory. Use the live booking link or 701-328-2900 to confirm your visit, current hours/closures and whether your packet can be completed while you wait. No numerical apostille counter hours or same-day completion guarantee was established. [ND-01: address and appointment wording; ND-16: office contact.]
SOS ordinarily returns completed documents by USPS First Class. To request priority/overnight return, enclose a prepaid, pre-addressed shipping label. Keep the label/tracking number and give a deliverable street address if required by your carrier. Do not substitute only an account number, an unpaid label or a request to bill the office. The SOS page does not specify accepted international-return carriers, packaging or overseas billing arrangements, so confirm the exact proposed international label with SOS before shipping; otherwise arrange a reliable U.S. return address and a separate onward shipment. HHS-coordinated birth/death orders instead use the shipping option purchased on the vital request. A digital scan-back is not the physical authenticated packet. [ND-01: return instructions; ND-10: selected vital shipping. Carrier-readiness advice is practical guidance.]
SOS says complete, correctly paid requests are usually processed within 3 business days. That estimate starts after arrival of a satisfactory packet and does not include obtaining a record, fixing errors, outgoing/incoming mail or foreign delivery. No general paid SOS expedite product was established on the current page. Overnight inbound and a runner may reduce transport or handoff delay, but do not by themselves shorten the state queue or promise same-day issuance. Recheck official notices before a fixed deadline and allow for weekends, holidays, carrier cutoffs and replacement originals. [ND-01: processing sentence; ND-02/ND-03: vital timing; ND-17: school total estimate. Planning limits are practical guidance.]
An FBI Identity History Summary, federal agency certificate or federal court record is not transformed into a North Dakota public record by a local notary. Follow the appropriate federal issuer and U.S. Department of State authentication instructions; its DS-4194, fees, addresses and service times are a separate process. If a recipient asks for a state criminal-history response instead, first establish exactly which issuing officer's signature SOS can authenticate and obtain that issuer's suitable certified/notarized response. An online search result is not necessarily that response. Do not replace the requested FBI record with a state search or route a federal signature through Washington, DC local government. [US-01: Prepare/DS-4194; ND-01: authority scope.]
Obtain the foreign office's written language/translator requirements and determine whether a translation itself needs a separately notarized declaration and authentication. An apostille does not verify translation accuracy. NDCC 44-06.1-23(6)(i) prohibits a North Dakota notary from notarizing a signature on a document drafted in a language other than English unless the document has a permanently affixed accurate written English translation. This applies to the document being notarized, not merely the certificate; it does not turn a translated foreign-issued birth record into a North Dakota vital record. Resolve the document, translation and recipient's requirements before the notarial appointment. [ND-20: section-23(6)(i); HCCH-01: Art.5.]
Suppose a foreign office requests two independently authenticated authorizations and both are properly notarized by the same North Dakota notary. The SOS amount is 2 × $10 + $5 = $25, plus any notarial charges (up to 2 × $5 for two acts, before agreed travel/technology), and both shipping directions. If two notaries execute them, the SOS calculation becomes $30. Put both document names and the single destination in the cover letter; do not count pages as authentications or ask the notary to combine unrelated records merely to reduce the fee. This hypothetical assumes two required authentications and is not recipient approval. [ND-01: examples; ND-20: section-28.]
An eligible adult needs one North Dakota birth certificate for foreign use. On the HHS paper route, select Certified, supply the required identity/eligibility evidence and pay $15 plus the chosen HHS return charge; for the 10-2025 international option, that subtotal is $15 + $100 = $115. Add the separately collected SOS authentication/search amount after it confirms the order. State the country and apostille request on the application and give reachable phone/email contact details. HHS/SOS coordination avoids assuming the applicant must first receive and re-mail the record from abroad. If the carrier cannot serve the address, resolve the return before ordering. This example excludes translation and onward services; it does not turn the HHS payment into an all-inclusive apostille fee. [ND-05: shipping/fee; ND-10: two-agency route; ND-01: SOS fee.]
A recipient asks for a UND academic package, one North Dakota district-court decree and an FBI result. UND's $50 preparation fee is separate from SOS; its linked order and forwarding process handles the academic preparation. The ordinary first certified district-court decree costs $20 under the court schedule, paid to the clerk under its instructions. Add the SOS authentication fee/search count for each qualifying state package after confirming how it is certified. The FBI document goes to the federal route with its own fee/return plan. Do not place all three under one private notarized cover sheet. The example explains different authorities; it does not assert that all three are necessary or accepted in a particular country. [ND-18; ND-14: VI.1; ND-01; US-01.]
On return, compare document inventory, destination, official name/capacity, authentication number/date and attachment. SOS provides a FirstStop verification page requiring the certificate number and certified date; verification of an existing certificate is not an online issuance service. Keep each authentication attached and avoid adding pages/stamps or taking the packet apart for scanning. If SOS returns it, retain the written defect and order/payment references; ask the original issuer or notary for the proper correction/replacement, confirm any resubmission fee/return materials with SOS, and resubmit a complete packet. Do not assume an automatic refund. For a recipient refusal, ask the decision-making office for its written reason, governing requirement and escalation contact before altering anything. [ND-23: verification inputs; HCCH-01: Arts.5,7; ND-24: rejected-filings handling. Recovery and packet-custody steps are practical guidance.]
This guide is free and you can request records and SOS authentication directly without hiring Notary Geek. Greg Lirette/Notary Geek's attributed operating judgment is to route each document first, keep official records on their issuer path, arrange physical-original/return logistics, and treat carrier cutoff and state queue as separate constraints. It is general operating experience, not proof of a North Dakota runner relationship, reserved appointment, faster state queue or actual recipient acceptance. Local bank/credit-union/workplace notaries may be convenient after the correct act is known; ask their price and availability. Paid help can have concrete value for eligibility/preparation review, record retrieval, matching interoffice arrivals, compliant notarization, tracking, scan-back or international forwarding. Agree scope and price separately; a runner transports or submits, not issues an apostille or guarantees a deadline. [ND-01: published process; ND-21: act fees; operating provenance: current repository future-codex-handoff.md.]
Source confidence: High for ordinary original-paper preparation and explicit cited fees/addresses; conditional for public-official search totals, current apostille payment method, certified-filing quotes, expedited vital timing, electronic output and international SOS return. Official pages and actual current PDF text/footnotes were inspected 2026-10-26. No filing, shipment, certificate lookup or recipient-acceptance transaction was performed.
Electronic output: Not established. Official electronic/remote notarial authority and FirstStop certificate verification do not prove SOS e-Apostille issuance or acceptance of a customer printout. Resolve the exact output with SOS. [ND-20; ND-22; ND-23.]
Keep the packet intact: Preserve issuer certifications and the SOS authentication as a complete attached packet. Do not detach, insert pages or add stamps after completion; request issuer guidance for a damaged attachment. This is practical custody advice, not a claim that a specific North Dakota security feature was inspected.
Bracketed source IDs in the guide point to these records. Each record identifies the exact supporting section or PDF page and its checked date. A checked date is an observation, not an effective date or service guarantee.
Optional document review is available only within an agreed paid managed-service scope. This free guide does not include personal DIY consulting.
You can use the official process without hiring Notary Geek. For a simple wet-ink signature, compare your bank or credit union, workplace, neighborhood notary, shipping store or mobile notary. Confirm the fee and the correct notarial act before signing. A notary cannot turn a private photocopy into the issuing office's certified record.
If physical shipping from abroad is the obstacle, separate document preparation, state submission, state return, scan-back and international shipment. A scan is not the physical apostille packet. Any receiving, label, shipping, review or full handled service needs its own agreed scope and price; this guide does not promise those services for every document or a faster state queue.
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