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Chilean Document Apostille in the U.S. — 2026 Guide

Checked September 2026. This page was written for this country and its details were checked against the authority’s own sources that month. Consular rules still change without notice, so confirm anything that will cost you a journey or a fee with the office that covers you. How we check our data.
Data last verified: September 2026

Chile joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 2016, and the consulates state the requirement plainly: U.S. documents must be apostilled by the Secretary of State of the state that issued them before being presented. But Chile adds a translation rule that is unusually relaxed — and one that is unusually specific.

Quick facts

Fee$3–$25 per U.S. document
TranslationAn unofficial one is accepted
ConditionNames must be transliterated
OriginalsBirth certificates are not returned

The relaxed part: where the certificate and its apostille are not in Spanish, an unofficial translation of each is accepted. The specific part: for the civil registry to accept it, the text must use the Latin alphabet, and names containing other characters must be transliterated.

Fees breakdown

ItemCostIssued by
Apostille on a U.S. state document$3–$25 per documentSecretary of State of that state
Apostille on a U.S. federal document$20 per documentU.S. Department of State
Apostille on a Chilean documentCharged in ChileCompetent authority there
Consular legalisation of signaturesConsular tariffWhere required
Educational certificate cycleConsular tariffSpecific service

Not having to hire a sworn translator saves real money on a family file, so it is worth knowing before paying anyone.

How to prepare a document for Chile

  1. Order the original certificate from the state vital records office.
  2. Have it apostilled by that state’s Secretary of State.
  3. Prepare an unofficial Spanish translation of both the certificate and the apostille.
  4. Check that names appear in the Latin alphabet, transliterating where necessary.
  5. Send the scans to the consulate by email as instructed.
  6. Bring the originals to the confirmed appointment.

Required documents

What the consulates do

They renew identity cards and biometric passports, draft public powers of attorney, register births, marriages and deaths abroad, legalise signatures and educational certificates, process residence permits and issue the digital credential.

Additional notes

The original is kept

A birth certificate submitted for registration is not returned: it is archived with the civil registry in Chile. Order two if you need one for anything else.

Recent certificates

Some posts require the certificate to be no more than a few months old. Ask before ordering.

Send PDFs

Posts ask for scans as PDFs, not compressed archives. A zip file can delay the appointment.

Never apostille a photocopy

The certificate attaches to an original or a certified copy from the record keeper.

📌 Other procedures for Chile

👶Civil Records→🤝Citizenship Recovery→📔Passport Renewal→⚖️Notary & Power of Attorney→🌐Visa Application→
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