The Road To Apostilles and Document Authentication by the Philippine Consulate General

The Hawaii State Capitol Building

Thinking that the process hadn't changed since my last visit just last month, I returned to the Hawaii State Capitol to obtain an apostille on some notarized documents that I'll be needing for our med school application.

Unfortunately, the Lieutenant Governor's Office recently implemented a change in the apostille/document authentication process: they would only directly apostille Vital Records (i.e. birth certificates) that have been issued in the State of Hawaii and that contain the State Registrar's original (vs. stamped) signature and have been notarized by the State of Hawaii Department of Health. All other documents need to be taken to the First Circuit Court, Legal Documents Section, at 777 Punchbowl Street in Honolulu, for verification of the Notary Public's signature and commission. The cost is $3.00 per notarized bundle.

Her Royal Highness, Queen Ka'ahumanu

The clerk politely informed me that I first had to accomplish that before returning for an apostille.

Of course, the parking situation by the Hawaii State Capitol decided to be difficult that day, so I decided to leave my car where it was at (near the golden King Kamehameha statue), purchase a $1.00 Hawaiian Sun drink from a food truck just to get some change (quarters, to be specific), walk all the way back to my car to feed the parking meter, then walk all the way to the First Circuit Court (also known as Ka'ahumanu Hale) and look for the Legal Documents Section.

The line wasn't too bad when I got there. After paying the nominal fees, the clerk attached a cover sheet to each notarized bundle. She almost rejected my request when she mistakenly thought that one of my documents contained signatures of two different Notary Publics. I then explained that what I had submitted to her was a colored photocopy of the originally notarized document, which was then notarized by another Notary Public after attesting that the colored photocopy is a "certified true copy of the original". Both signatures were in blue ink.

Oops! That was the first time they had encountered such a situation.

Lesson Learned: Perhaps, when having "certified true copies" notarized, it would be better to submit black-and-white photocopies, instead of colored photocopies, especially when the original contains signatures and stamps that were not made in black ink. By doing so, the said copy won't appear to have two different Notary Public's signatures.

Clear as mud?

The fish pond at the entrance of the Hawaii State Capitol

Thankfully, the clerk decided to accept my authentication request, after hearing my explanation.

I walked all the way back to the State Capitol Building to obtain my apostilles.

The open rooftop of the Hawaii State Capitol

Thankfully, it was a beautifully breezy day...

Otherwise, I'd either be drenched in my own sweat or in the pouring rain.

Hawaii State Capitol Elevator

When I got to the elevator of the State Capitol Building, a gentleman suddenly jumped in to catch the same elevator to the fifth floor. 

Apparently, we were both headed to the Lieutenant Governor's Office but he decided to rush ahead of me just to be able to open the door to the Office just for himself. He allowed it to swing and slam shut in front of me.

The clerks here treated visitors with "aloha"

I chose to say nothing. It wouldn't be wise to return his acts of unkindness-- his lack of "aloha". 

I slowly opened the massive door and saw him talking to the same clerk who had sent me over to the First Circuit Court earlier that day.

As soon as the clerk saw me, she politely told the gentleman that she had to take care of my apostille request first, because I was there first. She remembered me!

She happily apostille'd my documents for $1.00 per notarized bundle (not per page, in case you're wondering).

I walked all the way back to my car and found some strangers peaking inside.

Weird.

Thankfully, my car hadn't gotten broken into--that's common in some places over here, believe it or not.

I then proceeded to the Philippine Consulate General Honolulu to get the documents authenticated. It is the last step in the process of getting documents authenticated for use in the Philippines.

While I was able to get my documents notarized (at the bank), verified (at the First Circuit Court), and apostille'd (at the Hawaii State Capitol) all on the same day, the Philippine Consulate General Honolulu wouldn't do the same thing. They advised that I return the next day between 2:00PM and 4:00PM to pick up my documents. I politely asked if I could pick it up by 1:30PM so that I could meet the FedEx cut-off time of 2:30PM.

"No".

"Okay", I nodded, thinking to myself..."But, they agreed to do it for me just last month! Oh, well."

I returned to the Philippine Consulate General Honolulu the next day just before 3:00PM.

They could not find my documents!

I decided to stay until they were hopefully able to find my documents, even if that meant staying until closing, which is 4:00PM. 

I was hoping to go to the beach with the children that afternoon. They were waiting for me.

Beach day didn't happen. It wasn't meant to be. Thankfully, no one was bummed.

A Sorbetero Ice Cream Cart that I found at the Philippine Consulate General Honolulu during a previous visit

At around 3:45PM, they found my documents. Finally!

Evidently, one of the employees took my documents, with the intent to ask me questions about my husband's "Affidavit of Support". This was not communicated to the rest of the employees who had frantically searched for my documents. That employee happened to walk back into the office after a quick smoke break, and when he heard about my situation, he went over to his desk to ask if the documents in question belonged to me.

As it turns out, he simply wanted to know the purpose of my husband's "Affidavit of Support". Upon learning that it was required for submission to the medical school of our choice (as part of the application process), he cleared the document for processing. 

I ended up staying until closing.

It helped that the staff was friendly and kind.

"At least, the documents are now ready to be sent to the medical school via FedEx," I thought to myself.

I took the documents to FedEx Office that evening (just before closing time as well). 

Thankfully, the package safely arrived in the Philippines in just three short days (after having been routed via Oakland, Anchorage, Guangzhou, and finally Paranaque).

Now, my husband and I are just waiting for the school to call us back and schedule an interview.

Until then, we won't be purchasing our tickets to leave for the Philippines. 

Until then, we will wait and pray.

While waiting, we will start packing to prepare for our move.

Less than two months left to go...

...That is, if we get accepted into med school.

DISCLAIMER: I am by no means affiliated with any of the organizations listed in this blogpost. For the most accurate and recent information on any of these organizations, please visit their website or contact them directly.