What if I want to obtain my documents apostilled myself and do not want use My Home Notary Service apostille facilitator services? Then here are the steps you need to follow:

​

The California Secretary of State provides an Apostille to authenticate California public officials' signatures on documents to be used outside the United States of America.

​

In addition to our Apostille Pop-Up Shops, there are multiple routine ways to obtain an Apostille in California:

​

By Mail - An Apostille can be requested by mail through our Sacramento office.

​

How to Request an Apostille by Mail:

• Mail requests are processed by the Sacramento office only.

• Four (4) items are required for processing an Apostille:

​

1. The document that requires an apostille. The document must be signed by a California public official or be an original notarized and/or certified document. A photocopy is not acceptable.

2. A cover sheet stating the country in which the document will be used. You may use our Apostille Mail Request Cover Sheet, or write your own.

3. A check or money order payable to Secretary of State in the amount of $20.00 per Apostille requested.

4. A self-addressed envelope for the processed document to be returned. If you wish to use a mail tracking service, please provide pre-paid postage. If you do not provide pre-paid postage, our office will return your document via United States Postal Service regular mail.

 

Mail documents via United States Postal Service to:

Notary Public Section
P.O. Box 942877
Sacramento, CA 94277–0001

 

Documents being mailed via any other service (e.g. Fedex, UPS, DHL) can be sent to our physical address:

Notary Public Section
1500 11th Street, 3rd Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814

 

Documents are processed in the order they are received. Please refer to our Current Processing Times webpage to see the most up-to-date information.

Questions?

• See Apostille Frequently Asked Questions

• Get Contact Information

 

In Person - An Apostille can be requested in person at our Sacramento and Los Angeles offices.

​

How to Request an Apostille in Person in Sacramento:

• Secretary of State (Sacramento)

• 1500 11th Street, 3rd Floor
  Sacramento, CA 95814

• ​

The Sacramento 3rd floor public counter is open for in-person, same day service. Please be mindful of the following:

​

• A fee of $20.00 per Apostille is required. Payment can be made by credit card (Visa or Mastercard), check, money order, or cash. Checks or money orders must be made payable to Secretary of State.

• A $6.00 Special Handling fee is required for each different public official’s signature to be authenticated.

• A cover sheet stating the country in which the document will be used is required. You may fill out and print our Apostille Request Cover Sheet (Sacramento) to include with your request or fill out the form by hand upon arrival at our office.

• Questions?

  • See Apostille Frequently Asked Questions

  • Get Contact Information

 

How to Request an Apostille in Person in Los Angeles:

Our Los Angeles office will be open beginning Friday, June 13 in-person apostille and domestic partnership services. Due to the demonstrations in downtown Los Angeles, availability of services is subject to change.

Please continue to check this page for any new updates. If you have questions, contact us at (213) 897-5310. 

--

Secretary of State (Los Angeles)
300 South Spring Street, Room 12513
Los Angeles, CA 90013

The Los Angeles office located in the Ronald Reagan building is open for in-person, same day service. After obtaining a take-a-number ticket upon arrival, you may be asked to wait on the second floor until your number comes up. Please be mindful of the following:

• A fee of $20.00 per Apostille is required. Payment can be made by credit card (Visa or Mastercard), check, or money order. Checks or money orders must be made payable to Secretary of State. Cash is not accepted at the Los Angeles office.

• A $6.00 Special Handling fee is required for each different public official’s signature to be authenticated.

• A cover sheet stating the country in which the document will be used is required. You may fill out and print our Apostille Request Cover Sheet (LA) to include with your request or fill out the form by hand upon arrival at our office.

• Questions?

  • See Apostille Frequently Asked Questions

  • Get Contact Information

​

​​​​

 

Apostille FAQs

 

1. What is an Apostille and what is its purpose?

An Apostille is a certificate that authenticates the signature of a public official on a document for use in another country. An Apostille certifies:

• the authenticity of the signature of the public official who signed the document,

• the capacity in which that public official acted, and

• when appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which the document bears, e.g. a notary public seal.

The Apostille does not validate the contents of the document.

 

2. Does the California Secretary of State issue an Apostille or Authentication Certificate?

The California Secretary of State issues a single Apostille for documents to be used outside of the United States, regardless of the country of destination.

 

3. I have a birth or death certificate issued in California. For which public official's signatures can the California Secretary of State issue an Apostille?

For birth and death certificates, the California Secretary of State can issue an Apostille for the signatures of:

• county clerks and their deputies,

• county recorders and their deputies, and

• the State Registrar (California Department of Public Health).

If your birth or death certificate was issued by a city- or county-level agency and has the signature of a Health Officer or County Registrar (e.g. Local Registrar, Registrar of Vital Records), prior to presenting to our office for authentication, one of the following may be required:

• have that birth or death certificate certified by the county clerk’s office in the county in which it was issued, or

• obtain a certified copy of that birth or death certificate from the county recorder or State of California Department of Public Health.

The signature, name, and title of the public official can be found at the bottom of a birth or death certificate.

 

4. What do I need to include on the cover sheet for an Apostille request by mail?

Use our Apostille Mail Request Cover Sheet. If you prefer to create your own cover sheet, please include:

• the country in which the document will be used,

• return address, and

• name and contact information such as telephone number and email address. 

 

5. Who can request an Apostille in person?

Any individual can request an Apostille on behalf of themselves or on behalf of anyone else. Additionally, the requester does not need to be related to any person(s) named in the document.

For example, Louise is Alfred's neighbor, and they are not related in any way. Alfred can remain at home while Louise takes Alfred's document to the Secretary of State's office and submits the request on Alfred's behalf.

 

6. What is the fee for submitting an Apostille request via in person?

There is a $20.00 fee for each Apostille requested, plus an additional $6.00 special handling fee for each different public official’s signature to be authenticated. Please see example scenarios below:

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​​​​​

 

 

7. My Apostille request is urgent, but I am not able to appear in person. What are my options?

Documents are processed in order by the date they are received in our office.

If your Apostille request is urgent but neither you nor someone on your behalf is able to appear in person, you may wish to mail your documents overnight via a service such as Fedex, UPS, or DHL and include a prepaid overnight label to return your documents after processing.

​

Please note, this does not expedite the processing of your documents once they are received in our office, however it does expedite the time it takes for your documents to arrive to our office and the time it takes to receive your documents once completed.

See mailing instructions by clicking on How to Request an Apostille by Mail on our Request an Apostille webpage.

 

8. Can I get an Apostille for a territory within the United States, e.g. Puerto Rico?

No. Apostilles can only be issued for documents to be used outside the United States of America. Accordingly, we do not issue Apostilles for Puerto Rico, Guam, United States Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, or any other American territories or possessions. Generally, the notarial act is sufficient for use in any American territory or possession.

 

9. Does the California Secretary of State provide notarial services?

No. If notarial services are needed, you should have the document notarized prior to submitting your Apostille request to the California Secretary of State.

 

10. Can the California Secretary of State issue an Apostille for a document in a language other than English?

Yes. If the notarization of the document is in English, the California Secretary of State can issue an Apostille. The rest of the document can be in any other language.

 

11. Does the California Secretary of State provide translation services?

No. If a certified translation is required, you may wish to consult the American Translators Association.

If the notarization of the document is in English, the California Secretary of State can issue an Apostille. The rest of the document can be in any other language.

 

12. Where can I find out more information about Apostilles?

"The ABCs of Apostilles" (PDF) brochure provides basic information about the Apostille Convention and the Convention's operation that has been prepared by the Permanent Bureau (Secretariat) of the Hague Conference on Private International Law and is provided with the Permanent Bureau's permission.

 

13. Do health officers file their oaths of office with the Secretary of State?

On July 19, 2022, Assembly Bill (AB) 2324 was enacted to amend Government Code section 1363, which now requires a health officer, as specified, in addition to their existing filing duties, to file their oath in the office of the Secretary of State beginning January 1, 2023.

Agencies may submit an original or a copy of their health officer’s oath to the Secretary of State using the one of the following submission options:

• By mail to:
  California Secretary of State
  1500 11th Street  Sacramento, CA 95814
  ATTN: Oaths
   

• By email to: Oaths@sos.ca.gov

 

Please also note that while AB 2324 does not explicitly address oaths filed before the law change, agencies may permissively file these with our office by following the submission options above.

If you have any questions related to this matter, please direct them to the Secretary of State’s Notary Public Section support inbox at NotaryMail@sos.ca.gov.

For further information regarding this legislative change, please visit www.sos.ca.gov/business-programs/legislation/statutes-2022-legislative-summaries​