Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Houston Apostille LLC ("we," "us," or "our"), collects, uses, protects, and shares your information. Because our work involves handling your official documents, we take this seriously. This policy covers both our website and our services.

1. Information We Collect

Information you give us

• Contact information: your name, phone number, email address, and mailing or physical address.
• Service information: the destination country, document types, number of documents, turnaround needed, and your state and zip code.
• Documents: scans, photos, or uploads you send us, and the physical official documents you deliver or mail to us. These may contain sensitive personal information, such as birth records, background check results, or corporate records.
• Payment information: processed through our payment provider. We do not store your full card number on our own systems.
• Communications: the content of your emails, texts, form submissions, and phone calls with us.

Information collected automatically

• Log data: IP address, browser type, device, referring pages, and timestamps.
• Cookies and tracking: we use cookies and similar technologies to operate the site, understand how visitors use it, and measure our advertising.
• Advertising identifiers: when you arrive from a Google Ads click, we capture the Google Click Identifier so we can understand which ads bring us customers.

2. Phone Calls Are Recorded

3. How We Use Your Information

• To provide the services you request, including preparing, notarizing, translating, authenticating, and returning your documents.
• To submit your documents to the appropriate authorities, which may include the Texas Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of State, and foreign embassies or consulates.
• To communicate with you about your order, including updates, quotes, questions, and delivery.
• To process payments and maintain business records.
• To improve our services and website.
• To send you marketing communications, which you can opt out of at any time.
• To measure and improve our advertising, so we know which campaigns are working.
• To comply with legal, tax, and regulatory obligations.

4. Who We Share Your Information With

We do not sell or rent your personal information. We share information only as needed to deliver our services or as required by law.

Government and consular authorities

To authenticate your documents, we submit them to the appropriate agencies, which may include the Texas Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of State, and the embassy or consulate of your destination country. This is the core of the service you hire us to perform.

Service providers

We use trusted third-party providers to run our business. These may include:

• Customer relationship management and forms: to store your order and contact details.
• Payment processing: to securely handle your payment.
• Scheduling: to book your appointment.
• Call tracking and recording: to manage and record phone calls.
• Analytics and advertising: including Google Analytics and Google Ads.
• Shipping carriers: including USPS, FedEx, and international couriers, to deliver your documents.
• Certified translators: when your order includes translation.

These providers may access your information only to perform their function for us, and are expected to protect it.

Legal requirements

We may disclose information if required by law, subpoena, court order, or to protect our legal rights.

5. How We Protect Your Documents

Your physical documents are handled by our own agents, who are directly accountable to us. We use reasonable administrative and technical safeguards to protect the information we hold.

6. Cookies and Advertising

We use cookies to operate the website, remember your preferences, understand site usage, and measure our advertising performance. Google may also use cookies to serve ads based on your visits to this and other websites.

You can disable cookies through your browser settings, though some parts of the site may not work as intended. You can learn about Google's advertising practices and opt out at Google's Ads Policy page.

7. Marketing Communications

By engaging our services, you consent to receive communications from us by phone, text, email, or mail regarding your order, service updates, and promotions.

You can opt out of marketing at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any marketing email, replying to ask us to stop, or contacting us directly. Opting out of marketing does not stop essential communications about an active order.

8. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as necessary to provide our services, maintain business records, resolve disputes, and comply with legal, tax, and regulatory obligations. Retention periods vary based on the type of information and the legal requirements that apply.

9. Your Choices

• Access and correction: you may contact us to ask what information we hold about you or to correct it.
• Marketing opt-out: unsubscribe at any time.
• Cookies: manage or disable through your browser.
• Deletion: you may request deletion of your information, subject to our legal and business record-keeping obligations.

10. Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 through our website. We do handle documents that relate to minors, such as a child's birth certificate or consent to travel, when submitted by a parent or legal guardian with authority to do so.

If you believe a child has provided us information through our website, please contact us and we will remove it.

11. Third-Party Websites

Our website may link to third-party sites, such as Google Maps or scheduling tools. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy at any time. The version posted on this page is the version in effect. Continued use of our website or services after a change means you accept the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information, contact us.