Terms, Privacy & Data Policy

1. Who We Are

Apostille50 is a document authentication service operating in Maryland, United States. We facilitate the apostille process by acting as an intermediary between clients and the relevant state or federal authentication authorities. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. Our services are limited to the physical and administrative processing of documents submitted to us.

2. Services

We provide apostille and document authentication services for use in countries that are party to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, or the lgalization of documents that are not party to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961. By placing an order you confirm that:

• You are at least 18 years of age.
• You are located in the United States.
• The documents you submit are genuine and belong to you or a person for whom you are legally authorized to act.
• You understand that apostille and legalization fees vary by state and are non-refundable once submitted to the relevant authority.
• Processing times are estimates and may vary due to state authority backlogs outside our control.

3. Payments

Payments are processed securely by Stripe, Inc. Apostille50 does not store, handle, or have access to your payment card information at any point. All transactions are subject to Stripe's Privacy Policy. All fees, including the base service fee and applicable state fees, are displayed prior to checkout and are charged in full at the time of order. Fees paid to state authorities are non-refundable once submitted regardless of the outcome of the application.

4. Refund Policy

Our base service fee is non-refundable once processing has begun. State fees are non-refundable once submitted to the relevant authority. If you contact us at info@apostille50.com before your documents have been submitted, we will make reasonable efforts to cancel and refund your order. Refunds are issued at our discretion and are not guaranteed. No refund will be issued for delays caused by government processing times, postal service delays, or errors in documents submitted by the client.

5. Document Handling

You are responsible for sending original documents in good condition. We recommend using a trackable mail service. Apostille50 is not liable for documents lost or damaged in transit to or from our office. Once received, your documents are handled with care and returned to the address provided at checkout via trackable mail.

We will not alter, copy, or retain originals beyond what is necessary to complete your order. Digital documents uploaded through our portal are stored securely and deleted within 90 days of your order being completed.

6. Privacy Policy

We collect the following information to fulfill your order:

• Contact information: name, email address, and return mailing address.
• Order information: states selected, fees charged, and order status.
• Documents: digital files uploaded through our portal.

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties except as necessary to fulfill your order (e.g. submitting documents to a state authority) or as required by law. We use the following sub-processors:

• Stripe, Inc. — payment processing.
• Cloudflare, Inc. — infrastructure, file storage, and database hosting. Data is stored in the United States.

We do not use your information for marketing purposes. We do not use tracking cookies or behavioral advertising. Any email communications from us relate solely to the status of your order.

7. Maryland Personal Information Protection Act

Under the Maryland Personal Information Protection Act (Md. Code, Com. Law § 14-3501 et seq.), we are required to maintain reasonable security measures to protect personal information and to notify affected individuals in the event of a data breach. Personal information as defined under MPIPA includes your name in combination with financial account details, Social Security numbers, or government-issued ID numbers.

In the event of a breach that compromises your personal information, we will notify you without unreasonable delay and no later than 45 days after we discover the breach, in accordance with Maryland law. Notification will be sent to the email address associated with your order. We will also notify the Maryland Attorney General's office as required where more than 10 Maryland residents are affected.

8. Federal Compliance

We comply with applicable federal law governing the handling of personal information, including:

• FTC Act (15 U.S.C. § 45): We maintain reasonable data security practices and do not engage in unfair or deceptive trade practices.
• Electronic Communications Privacy Act (18 U.S.C. § 2510): We do not intercept or disclose electronic communications without authorization.
• CAN-SPAM Act: Any transactional email communications we send comply with CAN-SPAM requirements. We do not send unsolicited marketing email.
• Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA): Our services are not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Documents submitted to us may include sensitive personal information such as birth certificates, background checks, or government correspondence. We treat all submitted documents as confidential and limit access to personnel directly involved in processing your order.

9. Data Retention & Deletion

We retain your order metadata (name, email, address, file count) for up to 2 years for record-keeping and dispute resolution purposes. Uploaded digital documents are deleted within 90 days of order completion. You may request deletion of your personal information at any time by emailing info@apostille50.com. We will fulfill deletion requests within 30 days except where retention is required by law.

Payment records are retained by Stripe in accordance with their data retention policies and applicable financial regulations. We do not retain payment card data.

10. Security

All data transmitted to our servers is encrypted in transit using TLS. Uploaded files and order metadata are stored on Cloudflare infrastructure within the United States with encryption at rest. Access to stored data is restricted to authorized personnel only and protected by secret key authentication. No uploaded document is ever accessible via a public URL. We conduct periodic reviews of our security practices and update them as necessary.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by Maryland and federal law, Apostille50's total liability for any claim arising out of or relating to our services shall not exceed the amount you paid for the order in question. We are not liable for delays caused by government authorities, postal services, or events outside our reasonable control. We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages. Nothing in these terms limits our liability for gross negligence, willful misconduct, or fraud.

12. Governing Law & Disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Maryland, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any dispute arising out of these terms or our services shall be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Montgomery County, Maryland, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts. Before initiating any legal action, you agree to contact us at info@apostille50.com and give us 30 days to resolve the dispute informally.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may update these terms from time to time. The date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of our services after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised terms. For material changes, we will make reasonable efforts to notify customers via email.