Form Ds 4194 – Fill Out and Use This PDF

Provide individual's full name or company's name (complete spelling).

Enter the Customer Name as Last, First, MI, then the Suffix/Prefix, and the Date as MM/DD/YYYY.

Provide Email address, telephone numbers (home, work and/or cell) and mailing address.

Enter the Phone as Cell, Home or Work, with an Extension.

Mark the Case Type: Individual, Company or Federal Agency (specify). For Federal Agency, the case type must be official business.

If the documents were mailed or hand carried on behalf of a federal agency for official Government business, specify the agency's name, bureau, and/or office acronyms and provide the mailing address.

Enter the Mailing Address as Line 1, Line 2, City, State/Province, Country and Zip Code.

Complete Section 2 only if you are shipping the documents, and indicate the delivery method (type of mail service used to return the documents): Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope, UPS, DHL or Other.

If available, provide a tracking number including all letters and numbers.

All documents will be returned to one location.

Documents are not returned via FedEx and in multiple envelopes.

Check YES or NO for: Are you submitting/retrieving this request on behalf of another individual?

If you are submitting or retrieving a request on behalf of someone other than yourself or a company, provide specific and detailed information.

The full name of the individual's or company's name is required to properly search the database.

Provide telephone numbers (daytime, evening, or cell number).

If you are retrieving a document, U.S. government or state issued identification is required.

Enter the Courier/Representative Name as Last, First, MI, then the Company, Phone and Extension.

Indicate the country (or countries) of use, the number of documents, and the document type.

Mail-In Service: Attach continuation sheet(s) for mail-in requests exceeding 15 documents.

On the Continuation Sheet, enter the Country of Use, Document Type and Number of Documents.

The authentication process fee is $20.00 per document, not per page. (checked October 19, 2026)

Pay the total amount shown in the estimated cost field (the exact amount is required).

This fee will be charged regardless of whether you receive an authentication certification or a correspondence letter.

Allowable payment methods include money orders and checks (personal, corporate, certified, cashier's, traveler's) and should be made payable to the U.S. Department of State.

Enter the Document Total and the Estimated Cost.

Mail the form, documents, and payment to: Department of State Office of Authentications 44132 Mercure Circle P.O. Box 1206 Sterling, VA 20166-1206

Do not send cash by mail.

A maximum of 15 documents are allowed for submission per customer/company for walk-in services.

In Walk-In Service only, cash (exact amount), credit cards and debit/check cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover) are accepted in addition to money orders and checks.

Form DS-4194, Request for Authentications Service, is used to request authentication and/or apostille certificates under the seal of the U.S. Department of State for documents used abroad.

False statements made knowingly and willfully in this application are punishable by fine and/or imprisonment.