Free District of Columbia DIY guide
Get the right D.C. document, choose ONCA mail or walk-in handling and plan the payment and physical return. D.C. authentication is separate from U.S. Department of State federal authentication.
Reviewed 2026-10-28. Published instructions can change; estimates are not delivery promises.
Choose how to get it done
Free DIY route
Prepare, submit and track your own packet.
Paid managed service
Paid document, apostille and delivery help with an agreed scope.
We confirm the document-specific scope, cost and shipping instructions before payment or mailing originals.
The DIY instructions are free to read. Personal DIY advice and document review are not included. Managed work requires an agreed scope and price; availability and acceptance depend on the document and destination.
Report a content error or broken link. Include the page URL and official source. Content feedback is for correcting this guide, not personal DIY consulting or document review. Do not send personal documents with feedback.
A D.C. birth certificate or D.C. notarial act starts with ONCA; an FBI result follows federal preparation. Your location or a Washington mailing address does not change the issuing authority. Start with the canonical apostille foundations for destination routing. [DC-01]
DC Health links current applications and VitalChek remote ordering. It lists $23 birth or $18 death, plus $6 mail processing or $15.95 phone/online processing, with delivery extra. Eligibility and identification are part of procurement. Check the current linked application; an old downloaded form is not proof of today’s instructions. [DC-04]
Practical preparation: obtain the completed certified record, then prepare the ONCA request. Do not apply an ONCA return-label instruction to a separate VitalChek order. Ask about direct issuer delivery before arranging it so the document, payment and ONCA notification can be matched. [DC-02; DC-04]
ONCA’s category table routes D.C. marriage, divorce and name-change records to Superior Court; it also identifies court probate documents. Request the exact certified order or marriage record. The current court locator was inaccessible during this check, so court copy fees, payment and mail-return rules remain unverified. Do not use a birth-record application or invent a court charge. [DC-02; DC-06]
In BOSS through Access DC, select Certificates & Certified Copies, then Certified Copy Request, identify the entity and filing, and make a separate request for each filing. DLCP sends apostille work to the Office of the Secretary; it does not issue the apostille itself. Good-standing, certified articles and Clean Hands are different products. Confirm the actual output and entity-specific order fee before paying. [DC-05]
ONCA’s document table calls for a D.C. notary for college documents. Ask the school to prepare the registrar’s certification and confirm the actual notarial jurisdiction. A school’s D.C. address does not establish that its notary is commissioned there. Private affidavits/powers of attorney also need the correct completed notarial act; ONCA does not notarize them for you. [DC-02]
Submit the online Mail In Services Request Notification, then include the hardcopy request form, eligible documents, self-addressed stamped return envelope and check/money order if using that channel. Card payment follows review through the office’s emailed payment link. Do not send card numbers on ordinary email. [DC-01; DC-02]
ONCA lists $15 per document. Checks/money orders name DC Treasurer and must meet its exact-dollar/U.S.-financial-institution instructions; the counter sheet lists checks and American Express, MasterCard or Visa. Keep record-copy, ONCA and shipping costs separate. [DC-01; DC-03]
ONCA lists daily FedEx/USPS pickup; customers using UPS/DHL must arrange pickup after completion notice. Confirm the NE/NW address discrepancy with notary@dc.gov or (202) 727-3117. A label alone does not arrange a customer-managed pickup. [DC-01; DC-02]
The sheet covers nine documents or fewer, without appointment, Monday–Friday 9 a.m.–1 p.m. except holidays. Bring eligible originals and the request form; list document/type/count, country and name on the record. Third-party submission is allowed and authentication ID is not required. These are authentication instructions, not a waiver of ID for record procurement or notarization. [DC-03]
Practical example: procure the two issuer-certified records and separately prepare the resolution’s proper notarial act. Identify each document and country on the ONCA form. Ask ONCA how it will count the completed certifications; a bundle is not automatically one billable document. [DC-01; DC-03; DC-05]
No. Correct the identified source/certificate defect with the responsible issuer or notary first. Retain any written return reason and ask which document/signature needs correction. Do not remove or restaple a completed official attachment to repair it yourself. Physical/electronic output exceptions require office confirmation. [DC-02]
Source confidence: Dated official-source preparation guidance with explicit conflicts and unpublished facts; no completed-transaction acceptance evidence or independent final review claimed.
Electronic output: Electronic apostille availability was not established for this office/document. An electronic source file is not by itself an electronic apostille.
Keep the packet intact: Keep the completed official attachment intact. Ask the issuing office to resolve an attachment or signature concern; do not detach or add seals yourself.
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, authority submission, authority 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 government queue.
Request optional logistics or handled help · Request paid managed help
