Document services desk

Order the proof your next transaction will ask for.

A certificate of status, a certified charter copy, and an apostille each prove something different. Select the document that matches the receiving party’s requirement.

Certificate of status

Good standing / existence

Connecticut calls the document a Certificate of Legal Existence. Express certificates cost $50.00 for corporations and LLCs; short-form certificates are $80.00 for corporations and $50.00 for LLCs, and long-form domestic certificates are $120.00 for corporations and $100.00 for LLCs. Online certificates can be delivered electronically; paper requests add delivery time. The certificate confirms SOS filing compliance, not tax clearance.

Open certificate service ↗

Certified records

Charter and filing copies

Connecticut charges $40.00 per plain copy and $55.00 per certified copy of a business document. The current fee schedule states a per-document amount rather than a separate per-page price. Electronic records may be viewable or downloadable for free in the public filing history, but a certified copy requires the account-based request and $55.00 fee.

Ask the recipient whether it needs a plain copy, a certified copy, a long-form certificate, or a certificate of authority.

Choose the evidence

The document request should follow the transaction.

A certificate of good standing or existence typically confirms that the entity appears active or current in the state registry at the time the certificate is issued. It may be needed to open a bank account, qualify in another state, satisfy a lender, complete a merger, or support a commercial contract.

A certified copy reproduces a filed public instrument with the agency’s certification. This is the appropriate request when the receiving party needs to review the entity’s formation document, a charter amendment, a conversion, a merger, or a dissolution instrument.

Neither document should be casually described as tax clearance. A state registry certificate may not establish that the entity has paid franchise, income, employment, sales, use, local, or industry-specific taxes.

International use

Apostille path, without the guesswork.

Connecticut apostilles are handled through the Secretary of the State Authentication/Apostille service. Use https://portal.ct.gov/sots/business-services/authentication-and-apostille and submit the certified public record, destination-country information, fee, and Hartford in-person or mail instructions. The fee schedule has a separate authentication section, but the reviewed lines did not expose the current amount/timing; the authentication office's current instructions control. An apostille authenticates the signature/seal only.

01 · Confirm destination

Ask the receiving authority whether it requires an apostille, authentication, legalization, translation, or a recently issued certificate.

02 · Certify first

Many state authentication offices require a qualifying certified document before they can authenticate the signature or seal.

03 · Preserve the chain

Keep the original certificate, apostille, receipt, delivery record, and any translation together in the transaction file.

Before you pay for a document

Confirm the exact legal name and entity ID in the live public record.
Check whether the status is active and whether a delinquent report must be filed first.
Identify the required date window; some recipients will reject an older certificate.
Choose electronic delivery only if the recipient accepts a digital document.
Confirm whether the document must be certified, notarized, apostilled, or translated.

When the transaction is material, order the document directly from the designated agency or through its official system. Commercial document vendors may add a service fee for an item that the state makes available directly.