We understand that this can be a frustrating time for you. So it is important that you understand what we as notaries
can and cannot do.
We cannot certify a birth certificate, death certificate, or marriage license. Certified Copies of official documents
can only be obtained from the government authority that issued them.
A notary cannot affix their stamp to any document "legalizing" it. A certificate must be used with state
recognized language identifying the notarial act. The three most common are Jurats, Acknowledgments,
and Copy Certificates.
Some of the more common documents you can expect to need notarized related to foreign adoptions are the Health Examination
Certificate, No Criminal Record Certificate, Letter of Reference, Letter of Intent, and Approval Notice . You may be
asked to have copies of your bank statement, tax return,etc. certified. These are all things we can do. We are
available to you 24 hours a day to meet you wherever needed to complete this process.
An apostille is a document used by foreign governments to access the authenticity of an official
signature. In Pennsylvania, an apostille can be obtained only from the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Hopefully, this will make the mountain of paperwork a little less frustrating.
