Apostille? Notary? What Documents to Bring When You Leave the United States

Get your documents ready for an overseas move. Learn what we did before moving from the US to Portugal.

Before I jump into what documents we brought to Portugal, let’s define two terms/processes that you’ll need to become familiar with: notary and apostille.

What is Notarization?

Here’s the distinction that helped me:

A notary performs a particular notarial act, such as checking identity and acknowledging a signature or administering an oath. The requirements depend on the document and state. Notarizing something does not mean the notary has verified every statement in it.

Notaries are fantastic. We had a lot of documents to obtain and process before our move to Portugal. I found a fabulous notary who helped us notarize multiple documents at our home and at our school district office. Then she took our notarized documents to the Capitol building to have everything apostilled. She did all this in 5 business days.

We did have to do a last-minute apostille on our own and it was quite easy. We showed up at the government office when they opened and we were in and out in under ten minutes. I recommend reading the instructions on your state’s website about payment options and other requirements before showing up with your documents.

What is an Apostille?

For documents going to another country, there’s a separate authentication step:

An apostille authenticates the relevant official’s signature, capacity and seal for use under the Apostille Convention. It doesn’t certify that the document’s contents are true. USAGov explains apostilles and authentication certificates, and the Washington Secretary of State lists its document requirements.

Basically, another country needs a way to recognize the official signature or seal on your document. An apostille helps with that part. It is not a translation, and it doesn’t replace the receiving authority’s requirements.

What Documents Did We Bring?

What you need to bring on an international move will vary. Here’s what we packed in hard-copy and digital formats. The asterisks flag documents worth checking for authentication requirements, not a direction to notarize or apostille everything. Ask the receiving authority which version it needs, who must issue or certify it, whether it needs an apostille or translation, and how recent it must be.

• Birth certificates*
• Marriage certificate*
• School records* for our school-age child (attendance, grades, etc.)
• Driving records*
• Social Security cards
• Other citizenship documents
• Passports — when we arrived in Portugal, I got a notarized copy of each to carry. A copy is not a travel document or a universal substitute for the original; check the identification rules for the situation.
• Insurance policies
• Living trust and/or wills*
• Medical records
• Vaccination records
• Prescription medicine records

Documents we didn’t bring that might be required if it suits your situation:

• Death certificates
• Divorce certificates
• Custody records
• Consent to travel with minors
• International Driving Permit (where needed; it accompanies your license rather than replacing it)

Secure Your Documents

My default anxiety level is a six out of ten at all times. I was worried about documents getting damaged or misplaced so I invested in a good document organizer. Each person had their own section to secure their application documents, passports, etc.

Here are a few that I recommend and if you decide to purchase one Amazon will show me a little love through their Amazon Affiliate program.

What documents did you need when you moved abroad? Have a question about documents? Reach out here.

One less list to make from scratch

My free Moving-to-Portugal Checklist includes space for document research and the practical jobs before departure. You’ll receive the PDF by email after confirming your address.

For the paperwork in context, read our D7 application story and our first residence-permit appointments.

If you’d like to talk through the practical side of your own move, I offer one-on-one Portugal calls: €95 for 60 minutes. I share what we’ve learned from living here; legal, tax and investment decisions belong with qualified professionals.