California Apostille

California apostilles are issued by the California Secretary of State. An apostille certifies the signature and seal of the official who signed your document, so the country receiving it will accept it. It does not certify what the document says.

Which California documents can be apostilled

• Birth and death certificates signed by a county recorder, a county clerk or the State Registrar (California Department of Public Health)

• Marriage certificates from the county recorder

• Court records certified by the court clerk, including divorce judgments

• Notarized documents with a California notary's acknowledgment or jurat in English, such as powers of attorney, affidavits and consent letters

• Business documents certified by the Secretary of State, such as Articles of Incorporation and Certificates of Status

The California rule that causes the most rejections

Some California birth and death certificates are signed by a local health officer instead of the county recorder or the State Registrar. The Secretary of State does not have those signatures on file, so it cannot apostille the certificate as it is. The county clerk in the county that issued it must certify the signature first, or you can order a new certified copy from the county recorder or CDPH. We check the signature on your certificate before anything is filed, so this gets caught at the start instead of after weeks in the mail.

Order an authorized certified copy. California also issues informational copies, stamped as not valid to establish identity, and foreign authorities reject them.

How it works with us

1. Send us your document, or tell us what you have and we'll tell you what to order.

2. We review it and handle any county clerk certification it needs.

3. We file it with the California Secretary of State. Most state apostilles come back in 3 to 5 business days.

4. We return it by FedEx Priority, shipping included, anywhere in the world. You pay after the apostille is complete.

California apostille FAQ

Does California charge per document or per page?

Per document. Each certificate or notarized document needs its own apostille.

Can someone else request my California apostille?

Yes. The Secretary of State accepts requests from anyone, and the requester doesn't have to be named on the document.

Can a document in another language be apostilled?

Yes, as long as the notarization itself is in English. If the receiving country needs a translation, it usually happens after the apostille.

My country isn't in the Hague Convention. What then?

You need authentication and embassy legalization instead. See our embassy legalization page.