How to Apostille a Birth Certificate in New Jersey: Fees, Expedite, Timing
A New Jersey birth certificate apostille costs twenty-five dollars per record, issued by the state Treasury’s Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services rather than a Secretary of State. Standard processing runs twelve to twenty business days. The expedited tier, forty dollars per document, turns the same request around in eight and a half business hours, and New Jersey also runs an accelerated tier measured in single business hours for callers who arrange it by phone. For a state with a slow standard queue, the paid tiers are the story.
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An apostille is a certificate a state office attaches to a document so countries in the Apostille Convention will accept it. The background is in our apostille explainer.
Start With the Right Copy
New Jersey birth certificates come from the Department of Health’s Office of Vital Statistics and Registry for records from 1923 forward. Records before 1923 live with the State Archives. Either way, the document for apostille is the certified copy bearing the State Registrar’s signature, the official whose signature the Division of Revenue verifies. Photocopies and informational printouts do not enter the process.
One fee rule that surprises people with translated documents: if a certified translation is attached to a vital record and both need certification, New Jersey treats them as two apostilles and charges two fees. The translation is not a rider on the birth certificate’s fee.
The Apostille Step
New Jersey runs its requests through an online order first, at the state’s portal, with payment and the destination country entered there, and a separate online request is required per destination country. After the online order, the original documents follow by mail to a post office box, or by drop-off and courier delivery to the customer service counter at 33 West State Street, 5th Floor, Trenton, where in-person delivery runs 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. USPS is not available for the expedited tiers; those run on the counter or courier.
The finished certificate is an 8.5-by-11 color page carrying the state seal, stapled to the signature page of the document.
Standard processing is twelve to twenty business days from when the document is received and entered. Expedited is eight and a half business hours at forty dollars per document. The accelerated tier, one to two business hours, carries substantially higher fees quoted by phone, and the office asks callers to confirm walk-in availability before traveling.
What Does Not Work Here
The New Jersey office authenticates New Jersey records. An out-of-state birth certificate goes to that state’s process. A Consular Report of Birth Abroad is a federal document for the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications. Pre-1923 records that have not been pulled from the Archives do not exist yet as certifiable documents, so the archive request comes first.
New Jersey Birth Certificate Apostille Quick Facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Issuing office | NJ Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services |
| Fee | $25.00 per record ($5.00 adoption) + card/e-check service fee |
| Expedited | $40.00 per document, 8.5 business hours |
| Accelerated | 1-2 business hours, fees by phone, call ahead |
| Standard | 12-20 business days from receipt and entry |
| Process | Online order first, then mail originals or deliver to Trenton counter (8:30-2:00) |
FAQ
How much does a New Jersey birth certificate apostille cost?
Twenty-five dollars per record at the standard tier, plus a small payment service fee. The expedited tier is forty dollars per document, and adoption documents pay five dollars.
How fast can New Jersey do it?
The expedited tier processes in eight and a half business hours. An accelerated tier runs one to two business hours with higher fees arranged by phone.
Do I order online or by mail?
Both, in that order. The online request and payment come first, one request per destination country, then the original documents follow by mail or in person.
My document has a certified translation attached. One fee?
No. New Jersey certifies the vital record and the translation as separate documents, so the pair carries two apostilles and two fees.
Notaries who run New Jersey apostilles use the expedited tiers as a pricing lever. Our apostille agent training covers the New Jersey chain and every other state’s.
