Illinois Single Status Affidavit Apostille Guide

A single status affidavit apostille is your sworn, notarized statement that you are free to marry, certified for use abroad. This guide walks you through doing it yourself in Illinois for the state apostille fee only — "$2 for each apostille or authentication."

A Single Status Affidavit is a sworn statement, signed under penalty of perjury, declaring that you are currently single, widowed, or divorced and therefore free to marry. You draft it yourself and sign it in front of a notary — it is not a government-issued vital record, but your own sworn declaration of marital status. Because no agency keeps a registry of unmarried people, this self-declared affidavit is the standard way to document that you are eligible to marry, most often when a foreign authority asks for proof before allowing you to wed or settle there. One caveat applies everywhere: an apostille only makes the affidavit acceptable in countries that belong to the Hague Apostille Convention. If your destination is not a member, the document needs consular legalization through that country's embassy or consulate instead, not an apostille.

Foreign authorities usually require this document before they will let you marry, register a relationship, or settle in their country. The most common reasons people apostille a single status affidavit are:

• Marriage abroad (proof you are free to marry)
• Residency, partnership, or family-based visas
• Other consular matters — a name change, adoption, or inheritance where your civil status is relevant

The destination country sets the exact requirement, so confirm with the receiving authority or consulate what wording, supporting documents, and certification they expect before you start.

You draft the affidavit yourself — this is not legal advice, just the elements a single status affidavit should typically contain so a foreign authority can rely on it:

• Your full legal name, spelled exactly as it appears in your passport
• Your date and place of birth
• Your current address
• A clear statement of your current marital status — single, widowed, or divorced
• A statement that you are free to marry
• For divorced or widowed applicants, a brief note that any prior marriage was legally dissolved, with the year and the jurisdiction
• The destination country, and the city if you know it, named in the body of the affidavit
• The date
• A signature line to be signed before a notary — do not sign it beforehand

Leave enough blank space at the bottom for the notarial certificate (an acknowledgment or jurat) and the notary's stamp. Illinois affidavits are sworn statements, so your declaration should affirm that the contents are "true and correct under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Illinois." Finally, some consulates provide their own required affidavit template or wording — when they do, follow it exactly rather than this general outline.

1. 1

   Bring the unsigned affidavit and a valid photo ID to a notary commissioned in this state.

2. 2

   Sign in the notary's presence (or swear/affirm if a jurat is used).

3. 3

   The notary verifies your identity, completes the acknowledgment or jurat certificate, signs, and affixes an official seal.

Your affidavit should affirm that the statements are "true and correct under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Illinois."

Some applicants use an official no-record document instead of, or alongside, a personal affidavit: an official statement that no marriage record exists for you. This can take the form of a county-clerk Letter of No Record from the county where you would have married, or a certificate or statewide search from the state vital-records office — the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Division of Vital Records. You order it directly from that office under its current procedures. The destination country decides which document it will accept, so confirm before ordering. Keep in mind that an official no-record letter is itself a certified government document, which means it may need to go through the same Illinois Secretary of State apostille process described above before a foreign authority will accept it.

As of 2026-02-24, the Illinois Secretary of State lists: "Processing time: 7 to 14 business days for mail requests." The same page also notes: "In most cases, documents are processed while you wait on a first-come, first-served basis." Queue times drift, so check the official apostille page for the current estimate before you mail or visit.

Many destination countries require a certified translation of both your affidavit and the apostille attached to it. The receiving country or authority sets the translation requirement — including whether it must be done by a sworn or certified translator — so confirm exactly what they expect before you submit. Arranging the translation after the apostille is issued ensures the certificate itself is translated along with the affidavit.