Apostille Service in Arlington, Texas
Apostille Request Form
Arlington sits between Dallas and Fort Worth, and its documents travel further than most. Graduates of the University of Texas at Arlington send degrees to employers overseas, families register marriages and births with foreign consulates, and engineers at local manufacturers take postings abroad. Each of those moves usually starts with the same requirement: an apostille from the Texas Secretary of State.
Apostille Authentications handles that step for people across Arlington by mail and courier. We do not run a storefront in the city. Instead, we review your papers, fix problems before they reach Austin, and submit them to the state’s Authentications Unit for you. This page explains where Arlington records come from, which office signs them, and what our apostille service for Arlington, Texas involves.
Why Arlington Residents Need Apostilles
Arlington is the second-largest city in Tarrant County, and its economy mixes higher education, manufacturing and tourism. The Arlington Economic Development Corporation names major employers that include UT Arlington, General Motors’ Arlington Assembly plant, GM Financial, Bell Textron, J.P. Morgan Chase, Texas Health Resources, Six Flags Over Texas and the Texas Rangers. Several of these organizations operate internationally, which brings a steady flow of paperwork for transfers, foreign hires and overseas contracts.
The requests we see from Arlington tend to fall into a few groups:
- Students and alumni applying to graduate programs or jobs in Europe, Latin America or Asia.
- Employees on assignment who need degrees, marriage certificates or children’s birth certificates recognized abroad.
- Families handling dual citizenship, foreign weddings, or adoptions.
- Businesses in aerospace, automotive and professional services that sign powers of attorney or corporate resolutions for foreign partners.
The entertainment district around AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field also keeps hospitality and events companies busy, and some of their staff and vendors hold credentials that must be accepted in other countries.
UT Arlington Diplomas and Transcripts
UT Arlington enrolls more than 40,000 students, and its Office of International Education serves a large international population. Degrees and transcripts from UTA, Tarrant County College’s Southeast Campus in Arlington, or any private school are what the Secretary of State calls non-recordable documents. That label matters because the state will not apostille a plain photocopy of a diploma.
According to the Texas Secretary of State, a non-recordable document must be accompanied by a signed statement from the issuer that summarizes it, and that signature must be properly notarized. In practice, the university registrar usually provides a notarized letter or a notarized certified copy. Our team checks that the notary’s commission and certificate wording are complete before we send anything to Austin.
- Request an official transcript or diploma verification from the registrar.
- Ask that it be signed by a school official in front of a Texas notary.
- Send the original notarized document to us with your destination country.
- We prepare Form 2102 and submit it to the Secretary of State.
Birth, Death and Marriage Records at the Arlington Subcourthouse
Tarrant County Clerk vital records counters operate at several locations, and one of them is in Arlington itself: the Arlington Subcourthouse, 700 E. Abram St., Arlington, TX 76010. The county lists the same phone number for all vital records locations, 817-884-1550, with hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The county’s vital records locations page does not spell out which services each counter offers, so call before you go if you need a specific record.
Birth and death certificates can also be ordered from Texas Vital Statistics at the Department of State Health Services. When you apply there, list Apostille as the reason for the request, as described on the DSHS apostille page. Certified copies of marriage licenses come from the county clerk that issued them.
One detail catches many people: the Secretary of State notes that recordable documents such as vital records must be less than five years old. If your certified copy was printed years ago, order a fresh one before starting.
Divorce Decrees and Court Orders From Tarrant County
Court documents are kept by the Tarrant County District Clerk, not the County Clerk. The District Clerk has no Arlington branch listed; its offices are in downtown Fort Worth.
- Family Law Center (divorce decrees, custody orders): 200 E. Weatherford, 3rd Floor, Fort Worth, TX 76196. Phone 817-884-1265.
- Tom Vandergriff Civil Courts Building (civil judgments, name changes): 100 N. Calhoun Street, 2nd Floor, Fort Worth, TX 76196. Phone 817-884-1574.
Both are open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to the District Clerk locations page. Request a certified copy, since the state authenticates the clerk’s signature on that copy.
Which Office Handles Each Arlington Document
| Document | Where to get the certified or notarized copy | Who issues the apostille |
|---|---|---|
| Birth or death certificate | Tarrant County Clerk (Arlington Subcourthouse) or Texas DSHS | Texas Secretary of State |
| Marriage license record | Tarrant County Clerk | Texas Secretary of State |
| Divorce decree | Tarrant County District Clerk, Family Law Center | Texas Secretary of State |
| UTA or TCC diploma/transcript | School registrar, notarized | Texas Secretary of State |
| FBI background check | FBI | U.S. Department of State |
For federal records, see our FBI apostille services. If the receiving country is not part of the Hague Convention, such as the UAE, Qatar or Kuwait, an apostille will not be accepted and the document goes through embassy legalization instead. Our country list shows which path applies.
State Fees, Timing and Our Charges
The Authentications Unit of the Texas Secretary of State is located at 400 West 15th Street in Austin. Here is how its process and our pricing compare:
- State fee: $15 for each document apostilled.
- By mail: the state allows up to two weeks after it receives the request.
- In person: handled the same day; Mondays and Fridays are for walk-ins, and Tuesday through Thursday require an appointment.
- Request form: Form 2102 travels with every submission.
- Our fee: $195 per document, with the $15 state fee added on top.
We cannot promise how quickly a particular request will clear, because processing depends on the state’s queue. See our pricing page for full details, or the broader Texas apostille service overview.
Arlington Apostille Questions
Can I get a birth certificate for an apostille at the Arlington Subcourthouse?
The Arlington Subcourthouse at 700 E. Abram St. is one of the Tarrant County Clerk’s vital records locations. The county does not list each counter’s services online, so call 817-884-1550 first. You can also order from Texas DSHS and list Apostille as the reason.
Does the Texas Secretary of State apostille a UT Arlington diploma directly?
Not as a plain copy. A diploma is a non-recordable document, so it needs a signed statement from the school official with a notarized signature. Once that is in place, the Secretary of State can apostille it.
My divorce was finalized in Tarrant County. Where do I get the decree?
Request a certified copy from the Tarrant County District Clerk at the Family Law Center, 200 E. Weatherford, 3rd Floor, Fort Worth. The phone number is 817-884-1265.
Is an old certified copy of my Tarrant County marriage record acceptable?
The Secretary of State says recordable documents must be less than five years old. If your copy is older, order a new certified copy from the County Clerk before sending it for an apostille.
Do you have an office in Arlington?
No. We serve Arlington clients by mail and courier and submit documents to the Texas Secretary of State in Austin on their behalf.
Talk to Us About Your Arlington Documents
Have a UTA transcript, a Tarrant County marriage record, or a stack of corporate papers to send overseas? Call Apostille Authentications at (971) 514-3743 or email info@apostilleauthentications.com. You can also submit details through our request form, and we will reply with the steps for your specific documents and destination.
State specific information
Need statewide details? See our Texas apostille service page for the Texas Secretary of State process, fees and timelines.