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

Peru and the United States are both parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, so a U.S. public document used in Peru needs an apostille from the Secretary of State of the issuing state, plus a translation into Spanish. Peruvian consulates do not authenticate U.S. public records.

Quick facts

There is a second, distinctly Peruvian step worth knowing: when a civil record is filed at a consulate outside the district where it was issued, the consulate covering the issuing county usually has to legalise it first.

Fees breakdown

Peruvian public documents travel the other way through the foreign ministry in Lima, which is the only authority that apostilles them.

How to prepare a document for Peru

1. Order a certified copy from the county or state office that issued it.
2. Have private documents notarised first, since the apostille certifies the notary’s signature.
3. File with the Secretary of State of the issuing state, or with the U.S. Department of State for federal records.
4. Where the record will be used at a consulate outside its own district, ask whether prior consular legalisation is needed.
5. Arrange the Spanish translation and keep the whole set together.

Required documents

• Original certified copy with signature and seal.
• Completed state authentication request and payment.
• Prepaid return envelope for mail filings.
• Photo ID for in-person service.

What the consulate does instead

Consulates keep the civil registry abroad, issue identity documents and passports, legalise documents from their own district, execute notarial instruments and handle recovery of Peruvian nationality.

Additional notes

Jurisdiction follows the document

For legalisation the relevant consulate is the one covering the county that issued the certificate, not the one covering where you live. That distinction causes a lot of wasted trips.

Order copies before apostilling

Consulates keep the original certificate for their files in some procedures, so order more than one certified copy.

Translations

Ask the receiving office which translation format it accepts before commissioning one in the United States.

Never apostille a photocopy

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