I just received an email from 1DocRetreival asking what my fee would be for printing a document they would email and taking it to Texas Secretary of State Authentications Unit. I have not offered courier services. Is this request legitimate? If so, would I need to have any type of credentials to do this? What should I charge?
Sounds like an Apostille. This can be lucrative and VERY time-consuming. For me…utterly impossible as SOS is 3 hours away. Do a heckuva lot of research before quoting. If SOS is close, you may have found a niche OR a collosal time-sink.
This sounds odd. Don’t know about Texas, but here in FL, our SOS only authenticates or provides apostilles on original documents - an emailed copy would get us nowhere.
I’m in almost the same boat as @Arichter…our SOS is 2 hours away - and they don’t take walk-ins. You have to leave the document and either provide return mailing or go back and pick it up. They are (or were) also about 7 weeks out on these.
I’d really question this company about exactly what it is and what they need. Also check with your Authentications unit to confirm they will do it.
Good luck. Let us know
Yep, agree with Arichter and LindaH-FL. Sounds like an Apostille.
I’m in California and requirements are very similar to that of Florida. Must be the original signed document, not printed from email. The difference here is that our SOS does allow walk-ins. We can either wait for the process, which can take a few minutes or hours (depending on how busy they are). It can also be mailed in – with same process as Florida … provide return mailing or go back and pick it up – and may take several weeks. The CA SOS does have a service fee for an Apostille or Authentication plus a special handling fee (for a total of $26.00), which is payable upon submitting the request for Apostille/Authentication. California has 2 regular offices, in Sacramento and in Los Angeles, and several pop-ups in different cities across the state at different times of the year. All this is listed on the CA SOS website.
Besides your time and travel, keep in mind any fees charged by your state’s SOS for this purpose. Oh! also keep in mind to have hiring party send you a pre-paid shipping label to return documentation.
As Linda posted, perhaps request clarification from that hiring party and I would strongly recommend requesting guaranteed payment up front.
@cheryl_1_angel: Found these reviews online for that company:
1DocRetrieval Reviews | Read Customer Service Reviews of 1docretrieval.com
Thank you for this information.