About Massachusetts Apostille Services
We are a small, licensed document services team in Tewksbury that has apostilled more than 25,000 documents for use in over 120 countries since 2010. Families, attorneys, universities and exporters across Massachusetts use us because we check every document before it is filed, hand-deliver it to the state, and answer the phone when you call.
1215 Main St, Suite 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876 · (978) 424-4629 · Hablamos Español
How a Neighborhood Shipping Counter Became a Statewide Apostille Office
Massachusetts Apostille Services is a division of Neighborhood Parcel, a Tewksbury business that has handled shipping, notarization and document services for the Merrimack Valley since 2007. The apostille work started the way most of our services do: customers asked. A Brazilian family needed birth certificates authenticated for citizenship; a local manufacturer needed a certificate of origin accepted in Argentina; a teacher heading to the Gulf needed an FBI check apostilled and had been told the wrong office twice.
By 2010 the apostille desk had become its own licensed operation, with commissioned notaries on staff, a standing route to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Commissions Section in Boston and a process for federal filings in Washington. Today we process state and federal apostilles, notarizations, certified translations and embassy legalizations for clients in every corner of Massachusetts and for Massachusetts natives living abroad.
We stayed small on purpose. Every order is reviewed by a person who has filed thousands of them, and every phone call reaches someone who can look at your document and tell you what it needs.
Credentials, Not Claims
Licensed in Massachusetts since 2010
A licensed document services business operating from a physical office you can visit, not a mailbox or a web form.
$100,000 bonded and insured
Your original documents are covered while in our care, and our acceptance guarantee is backed by the bond.
Commissioned Massachusetts notaries on staff
Notarizations are done in-house by notaries who file apostilles weekly and know exactly what the state accepts.
99.8% acceptance across 25,000+ documents
We track every rejection. Almost all trace to destination-country rules we now flag during review.
Bilingual English and Spanish, Portuguese in-house
We read your documents in the language they are written in and coordinate 30+ other languages.
Hague Convention specialists
State and federal apostilles, plus embassy legalization for the countries that still require it.
What Happens When You Send Us a Document
A person reviews it
Not a form. Someone who has filed thousands of apostilles checks the copy, the notarization and the destination’s rules, and emails you the answer.
We fix what would be rejected
Certified copies ordered, notarizations redone, federal documents routed to Washington, translations arranged, all before anything is filed.
We deliver it by hand
State documents go to the Commissions Section in Boston with our courier, not through the mail queue.
You get it back tracked
With updates at each step and a scan when the apostille is attached, so you can forward it abroad the same day.
The Clients Who Keep Coming Back
Families and individuals. Dual citizenship applicants assembling generations of vital records, couples marrying abroad, parents completing adoption dossiers, retirees moving to Portugal or Spain, students heading to foreign universities and workers relocating for a job.
Attorneys and paralegals. Immigration, family, estate and corporate practices that need predictable turnaround, correct notarial certificates and one contact who knows their documents. Read our law firm guide.
Businesses and exporters. Manufacturers, life-science companies, software firms and freight forwarders sending corporate and trade documents to subsidiaries, tenders, banks and customs authorities worldwide. See corporate apostilles.
Institutions. University registrars, hospitals, funeral homes and municipal offices that refer clients or send batches. Scheduled pickups are available. Ask us for a volume discount.
The People and the Process Behind Every Order
Every document that comes through our door is handled by the same small team: the specialist who reviews it, the commissioned notary who signs it when notarization is needed, the courier who carries it to One Ashburton Place, and the coordinator who tracks the federal filings and translations. Nobody in that chain is a call center. The person who emails you the quote is the person who checks the apostille before it ships, which is how the acceptance rate stays where it is.
The review is the part clients notice first. A birth certificate arrives and we check the form, the seal, the issue date and the destination’s rules before anything is filed; a power of attorney arrives and we read the certificate block and the agent’s identifiers; an FBI check arrives and we compare its issue date to the destination’s age limit. Problems are fixed at that stage, on a phone call, rather than discovered three weeks later on a return notice.
Filing is by hand. State documents go to the Commissions Section with our courier on a standing schedule, daily when Rush orders are waiting; federal documents go to Washington through managed channels with tracking; translations are booked with the translators each destination accepts. Originals are logged on receipt, stored in a locked cabinet between steps and returned insured.
We are a division of Neighborhood Parcel, which has served Tewksbury and the Merrimack Valley since 2007, and we still answer the phone the way a neighborhood business does. Bilingual staff handle Spanish and Portuguese in-house. If you would like to see how a specific document moves through the process, our how-to guide follows one from start to finish.
Sixteen Years in Numbers
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2007 | Neighborhood Parcel opens in Tewksbury with shipping, notary and document services |
| 2010 | Massachusetts Apostille Services launched as a licensed document services division with a standing route to One Ashburton Place |
| 2013 | Federal apostille service added for FBI checks, naturalization certificates and IRS documents |
| 2016 | Brazil joins the Hague Convention; Portuguese-language service expanded for Framingham, Marlborough and Everett families |
| 2019 | Mobile notary and loan signing service extended statewide |
| 2022 | Certified translation coordination reaches 60 languages |
| 2023 | China accepts apostilles; corporate accounts for life-science exporters grow |
| 2024 | Canada joins the Convention; 25,000th document apostilled |
| 2026 | Site and service pages rebuilt with document-by-document guides |
The Communities That Rely on Us
Merrimack Valley
Lowell, Lawrence, Andover, Methuen, Haverhill, Billerica and Chelmsford: walk-in clients, Spanish-speaking families and hospital signings.
Greater Boston
Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Newton, Brookline and Quincy: university documents, corporate filings and consulate-bound sets. See Boston.
Route 128 and 495
Burlington, Lexington, Waltham, Marlborough and Westborough: employers relocating staff and companies expanding abroad.
MetroWest
Framingham, Natick and Milford: Brazilian and Portuguese documents with sworn translation.
Central and Western Massachusetts
Worcester, Springfield and the Berkshires by mail-in and mobile notary.
Massachusetts natives abroad
Alumni and expatriates ordering by email from Europe, Asia and Latin America. See all service areas.
Four Commitments on Every Order
Review before payment
You learn whether the document qualifies, what it needs and what it costs before you pay anything. If it will not work, we say so and tell you what will.
The price is the price
State fee, review, filing, tracking and return shipping are in the package. Add-ons such as translation, replacement copies and embassy fees are quoted in writing before you approve them.
Accountability for our errors
If a document we prepared is rejected because of a mistake on our side, we redo the notarization, the apostille and the shipping at no charge. The commitment is backed by a $100,000 bond and insurance.
A person, not a portal
Every order has a specialist’s name on it. Call and the person who reviewed your document answers, including when the answer is that the state changed a rule this week.
Five Reasons Clients Hand the Process to Us Instead of Filing Themselves
The state fee is $6. What clients pay us for is everything that is not the fee.
The hours it actually takes
Reading the current rules, ordering the right certified copy, arranging a notarization that will pass, driving to Boston, parking, queueing at the counter and returning for pickup. Most people lose the better part of two working days. We drive that route every week.
Two authorities, two rulebooks
State-issued documents go to the Secretary of the Commonwealth; federal records such as FBI checks, naturalization certificates and IRS letters go to the U.S. Department of State in Washington. Sending a document to the wrong office costs weeks. See apostille versus legalization.
One rejection costs more than the service
A photocopy instead of a certified copy, a notarial certificate missing the commission expiration, a translation done before the apostille: each one means a new document, a new filing and a missed appointment abroad. The free review catches these before anything is paid or filed.
Everything on one order
Certified copies, notarization, state or federal apostille, embassy legalization, certified translation and tracked shipping to the destination, handled by one office with one invoice instead of four vendors who each blame the others.
The files that need a specialist
Multi-generation citizenship sets, corporate packages for a foreign subsidiary, estate documents for a probate court abroad, adoption dossiers and non-Hague legalization chains. These are the orders where experience is the difference between six weeks and six months.
The Full Menu, and What Each Part Costs
Massachusetts apostilles
State-issued documents filed by hand at the Commissions Section: Economy $149.95, Express $199.95 or Rush $379.95 per document, state fee included. See pricing.
Federal apostilles
FBI background checks, naturalization certificates, IRS letters and other federal records through the U.S. Department of State, $199.95 standard or $350 rush, four to eight weeks. See federal apostilles.
Embassy legalization
For the countries still outside the Hague Convention, including the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Lebanon and Taiwan: state authentication first, then the consulate, four to ten weeks.
Notarization, in office and mobile
$35 per document at the Tewksbury counter, or a commissioned notary at your home, office, hospital or closing with a travel fee by distance. See mobile notary.
Certified translation
From $99.95 per page, in the format each consulate and registry accepts, and scheduled so the apostille page is translated too. See translation services.
Document forwarding worldwide
Tracked FedEx and UPS delivery from our own shipping counter to a foreign lawyer, registry, university or family member, so the finished file never has to come back to you first.
About Us: FAQ
Where are you located?
1215 Main Street, Suite 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876, on Route 38 about 30 minutes north of Boston, with free parking at the door. Office hours are Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Are you a government office?
No. Apostilles are issued by the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth and the U.S. Department of State. We are a licensed private service that prepares, files and returns your documents so you do not have to.
Do I have to come to Tewksbury?
No. Most clients use mail-in service with tracking, and our mobile notaries travel statewide for documents that must be signed in person.
What languages do you work in?
English, Spanish and Portuguese in-house, with certified translation coordinated in 30 or more languages.
How do I know my original documents are safe?
We are bonded for $100,000 and insured, log every document on receipt, store originals in a locked cabinet and return them with tracking. Originals never leave the United States.
Who will handle my order?
The same small team, every time. You can call and speak to the person who reviewed your document.
Do you serve people outside Massachusetts?
Yes. Massachusetts natives living abroad and out-of-state clients with Massachusetts documents order by email and mail, and documents from other states are routed through our partner network.
Can I read reviews?
Yes. Reviews are on our Google Business Profile and quoted on the pricing page. Clients most often mention the free review catching a problem before it cost them.
Are you affiliated with the state?
No. We are an independent licensed service. The Secretary of the Commonwealth and the U.S. Department of State issue apostilles; we prepare, file and return documents so clients do not have to.
How is Massachusetts Apostille Services different from a national mail-in service?
We hand-deliver to the state office rather than mailing, review every document with a person before filing, notarize in-house, handle federal and state documents on one order and answer the phone. National services quote low base prices and add the fees we include.
Do you train other notaries or offices?
We share our notarial-certificate guide with registrars, hospitals and community organisations that refer clients, so the documents they send arrive apostille-ready.
Who owns the company?
Massachusetts Apostille Services is a division of Neighborhood Parcel, a family-run Tewksbury business founded in 2007.
Are your notaries commissioned in Massachusetts?
Yes. Every notary on staff holds a current Massachusetts commission, and the notarial certificates we use follow the wording the Secretary of the Commonwealth accepts for apostilles.
Do you subcontract the filing?
No. Our own staff carry documents to One Ashburton Place on the daily run. Out-of-state and federal filings go through vetted partner offices we have used for years.
How do you protect my documents and data?
Documents are stored in a locked cabinet between steps, scans are kept on encrypted drives and deleted after delivery on request, and we never share client information with third parties.
Can I speak to the person handling my order?
Yes. Each order has a named specialist whose direct line and email are on the confirmation.
Can you ship the finished documents straight to an address abroad?
Yes. We ship tracked from our own counter to foreign lawyers, registries, universities, consulates and family members, so the file does not have to come back to you first.
Do I need separate providers for the notarization, the translation and the apostille?
No, and using separate providers is where most delays start. We notarize, file the state or federal apostille, arrange certified translation from $99.95 per page and ship the result, all on one order.
Is a quote or a document review free?
Yes. Send a photo or scan with the destination country and we will tell you whether the document qualifies, what it needs and the total before you pay anything.
How the Service Grew
2007
Neighborhood Parcel opens in Tewksbury as a shipping and business-services store, notarizing documents for local families from the first month.
2012
Customers who needed notarized documents accepted abroad start asking us to handle the Secretary of the Commonwealth filing; apostille service begins.
2016
Massachusetts Apostille Services becomes its own division with a dedicated filing run to Boston and a translation partner network.
2019
Mobile notary service expands across Middlesex and Essex counties; federal apostilles through the U.S. Department of State added.
2023
China joins the Hague Convention and our China work shifts from legalization to apostille; embassy legalization desk retained for the Gulf and Southeast Asia.
Today
Thousands of documents a year for 120 countries, reviewed by the same small team that answers the phone.
Talk to the People Who Will Handle Your Documents
Call, email or walk in. We will look at your document, tell you what it needs and quote the total, with no obligation.
Massachusetts Apostille Services · 1215 Main St, Suite 115, Tewksbury, MA 01876 · Mon–Fri 10 a.m.–6 p.m. · Licensed since 2010 · $100,000 bonded & insured · Hablamos Español