Egypt Document Legalization

The full legalization chain, in order

1. Get the correct base document (certified vital-records copy, or notarize the document)
2. State authority certification — ask for an authentication for a non-Hague country, not an apostille (state documents only)
3. U.S. Department of State, Office of Authentications — $20 per document
4. Consular Section, Embassy of Egypt, Washington D.C. — consular legalization
5. Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation after arrival in Egypt (commonly required)

Embassy details & fees

Embassy of Egypt — Consular Section — 3521 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008. Consular legalization is about $47 per document. Personal/civil documents are $47 per document (cash or cashier's check); commercial documents are $132 per document. The Washington, D.C. consulate only legalizes documents issued in its jurisdiction states — confirm your state is covered. Embassy website →

Timeline & cost, worked out

For a state document: the state fee (roughly $10 in many states) + $20 federal authentication + $47 embassy = about $77 in government fees. Budget several weeks — federal authentication alone runs about 5+ weeks by mail.

Which documents does Egypt usually ask for

• Birth certificate (state example: California)
• Marriage certificate (state example: California)
• Diploma / degree certificate (state example: California)
• Single status affidavit (state example: California)
• Power of attorney (state example: California)

State documents vs federal documents

The routing never depends on Egypt — it depends on who issued your document. A birth certificate, diploma, or notarized paper is a state document, apostilled or certified by the issuing state. An FBI background check, IRS letter, or naturalization certificate is federal and goes only to the U.S. Department of State — Office of Authentications.