California Apostille Service

We notarize your document, submit it to the California Secretary of State, and return the apostilled original to you. Standard turnaround is 5–10 business days; rush in-person submission to the Sacramento SOS office at 1500 11th Street is available. $40 service + $26 state filing fee per document.

What is an apostille?

An apostille is a certificate of authentication issued by a competent authority (in California, the Secretary of State) that verifies the validity of a notary's signature and seal, or the validity of an official's signature on a government-issued document. It was created by the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, which streamlined the older multi-stage "consular legalization" process.

If your document is going to a country that's a party to the Hague Convention (120+ countries, including most of Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific), the apostille is the only authentication required — you do not need to involve the destination country's consulate.

Documents we commonly apostille

• Birth, marriage, and death certificates (CA Vital Records issued or county-recorded copies)
• Diplomas, transcripts, and academic credentials (must be signed by the registrar and notarized)
• Powers of attorney for use in foreign property transactions, inheritance, or business
• Corporate documents — articles of incorporation, bylaws, board resolutions, certificates of good standing
• Adoption documents — foreign adoption decrees, home study reports
• FBI background checks (these are federal, so federally apostilled by the U.S. State Department, not California — we can advise)
• Affidavits for foreign litigation or property claims
• Single status / no-impediment-to-marriage certificates

The apostille process, step by step

1. Document preparation. The underlying document must be either signed by a California notary or issued by a California public official whose signature is on file with the Secretary of State. For non-notary documents (vital records, court orders), the issuing authority typically certifies the document themselves.
2. Notarization (if applicable). We meet with you to notarize the document. The notarization must be a full California acknowledgment or jurat — the apostille certifies the notary, not the underlying document content.
3. Submission to the Secretary of State. We deliver the document to the California Secretary of State's Sacramento office (1500 11th Street, 2nd Floor) or, for rush orders, we walk it in same-day.
4. Authentication. The SOS verifies the notary's commission is active and on file, then attaches the apostille certificate (a one-page certificate stapled to your document).
5. Return. We pick up the completed apostille and return the document to you, either in person or by tracked mail.

Hague Convention countries

The apostille is valid in any country that's a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. As of 2026, this includes (selectively):

• Europe: all EU member states, UK, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey
• Latin America: Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, most of Central America and the Caribbean
• Asia-Pacific: China (incl. Hong Kong, Macao — recently acceded), Japan, South Korea, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand
• Middle East & Africa: Israel, UAE, Saudi Arabia (acceded 2022), Oman, South Africa, Morocco, Mauritius
• North America: United States, Canada (acceded 2024)

Non-Hague countries (Vietnam, Iran, much of sub-Saharan Africa) require the older multi-stage process: notarize → SOS authenticate → U.S. State Department authenticate → destination country consulate legalize. We can coordinate this longer process when needed.

Common apostille questions