When a relative dies in Texas and leaves a bank account in Nicaragua, or when you need to operate or close a Nicaraguan account from the United States, the bank will ask for US documents that carry an apostille. A Texas death certificate, proof of relationship, or a power of attorney has no legal effect in Nicaragua until it is authenticated. This page explains how the apostille works and what a Nicaraguan bank generally expects.
What an apostille is
An apostille is a certificate that authenticates a public document — a notary's signature, a court seal, a registrar's certification — so it will be accepted by authorities in another country. For countries in the Hague Apostille Convention, the apostille is the finish line. For countries outside it, the same Texas certificate is the first step in a short legalization chain.
Does an apostille work in Nicaragua?
Yes. Nicaragua joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 2013, so a Texas document that carries an apostille from the Texas Secretary of State is accepted by Nicaraguan banks, notaries, and courts without the older consular legalization chain. Because accession is relatively recent, an occasional office may still be more familiar with consular legalization — but the apostille is the legally correct route for US documents. Note that the apostille authenticates the document; it does not translate it, so a Spanish translation is still required.
How the Texas Secretary of State apostille works
Texas apostilles come from a single office: the Secretary of State's Authentications Unit in Austin. There is no county-clerk step — a document notarized by any Texas notary, in any of the 254 counties, goes straight to the state. Since October 2023 Texas issues one Universal Apostille (Form 2102) that works for every destination, whether or not the country belongs to the Hague Apostille Convention.
The state fee is $15 per document. Mailed requests can take up to 25 business days; in-person and appointment service in Austin is same-day for up to 10 documents, and a bulk drop-box handles larger batches in 24–48 hours. There is no online submission — every request is handled by mail or in person. Certified copies of vital records (birth, death, marriage, divorce) must be less than five years old.
Federal documents — FBI background checks, USCIS naturalization certificates, IRS letters — cannot be apostilled by Texas; they go to the U.S. Department of State. We confirm the correct authority before anything is filed, so your documents are never rejected on a technicality.