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A U.S. document can only be used officially in Thailand once it has been authenticated and legalized. Printwise Global takes it through every stage for you, so it arrives correctly prepared and ready to be accepted.
Legalizing a document for Thailand means passing it through several authorities in a set order: a notary where needed, the Washington, D.C. Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of State and, last of all, the Royal Thai Embassy.
We manage that whole chain, from preparing your document to collecting the final embassy legalization, whether you need it for personal, academic or business purposes.
Step 1
U.S. notary public
Only if required
Step 2
Washington, D.C. Secretary of State
1–2 business days
Step 3
U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.
About 2 weeks
Step 4
Royal Thai Embassy
About 2–3 weeks
General documents begin with a notary, then move to state authentication. Federal documents skip straight to the U.S. Department of State. Every document then finishes at the Royal Thai Embassy. Here is what happens at each stage while we handle the details.
Most personal and business documents start with a U.S. notary public, who notarizes them so they can enter the authentication chain.
Typically needed for
Federal documents, such as an FBI background check, skip notarization and go straight to Step 3.
Once notarized, the document is authenticated by the Secretary of State in the jurisdiction where the notarization took place.
Good to know
With state authentication complete (where it applies), we submit your documents to the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. for federal authentication.
Finally, we submit your documents to the Royal Thai Embassy for legalization. Once it's complete, they're officially recognized for use in Thailand and we send them back to you.
Each authority sets its own timing: about 1–2 business days at the Washington, D.C. Secretary of State, around 2 weeks at the U.S. Department of State and around 2–3 weeks at the Royal Thai Embassy. Allow roughly 4–5 weeks in total, plus notarization if your document needs it. These are estimates and can change with each authority's workload.
Personal, academic and business documents, including birth, marriage and death certificates, diplomas and transcripts, state and FBI criminal record checks, and company documents.
No. FBI background checks are federal documents, so they skip notarization and state authentication and go directly to the U.S. Department of State.
Clear scans or digital copies are fine for most documents. For an FBI background check we can only accept the official digital PDF you received directly from an FBI-approved channeler; scans and photocopies aren't accepted, so a paper FBI report has to be mailed to us in original. Documents notarized and authenticated in another state must also be mailed in original.
Yes. Vital records such as birth, marriage and death certificates must first be authenticated by the Secretary of State of the issuing state. Once that's done, send it to us and we'll handle the federal authentication and the Royal Thai Embassy legalization.
We email you as your documents move through each stage, and you can follow your order's progress at any time from your Printwise Global dashboard.
