If you live in Texas and receive an INSS retirement or pension benefit from Brazil, you must complete a proof of life (prova de vida, also called an atestado de vida) every year to keep your payments flowing. If a Brazilian relative has passed away and you are entitled to a survivor's pension or a share of an estate, you will need to send Brazil documents it will accept as authentic. In most of these situations a Texas document must be apostilled first.
This page explains when an apostille is required, how the Texas process works, and what Brazil specifically expects for proof-of-life and pension-entitlement claims.
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 Brazil?
Yes. Brazil has been a member of the Hague Apostille Convention since 2016. A single apostille issued by the Texas Secretary of State is accepted throughout Brazil, with no further legalization by a Brazilian consulate needed for the document itself. The apostille certifies that the Texas notary or official who signed your document is genuine, and the INSS or a Brazilian registry will then treat it as authentic.
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.