What is an Apostille for California?
An apostille is the authentication of a public official by either a Secretary of State or the U.S. Department of State. An allonge serves as the authentication by the Secretary of State of the signatures on a document intended for use in a foreign country.
The California Secretary of State will only apostille the following types of documents:
- Original paper documents notarized by a notary public commission in California. The document must have an original wet signature and notarial stamp
- Certified and/or recordable documents issued by the State of California or California county governments. Examples: California birth and death certificates, articles of incorporation, certificates of status, corporate and LLC articles or annual reports, divorce decrees, single status affidavits, etc.
How do you pronounce the word “apostille”, and what does it mean?
Apostille (pronounced ah-po-stee) is a French word which means a certification. In notary language, it refers to a certificate issued by the Secretary of State to authenticate the signature of a notary public and/or other public officers then placed on documents that are to be sent overseas. The Apostille certifies that the notary’s commission is current and the notary is in good standing or other public official.
What is the difference between “Hague” and “Non-Hague” countries?
Countries that are participants in the 1961 Hague Convention have agreed to accept an apostille certificate as the only authentication required for a document to be used in their country. The apostille is issued by the Secretary of State in the state of the document’s origination.
Can I un-staple the apostille certificate so that I can copy all the pages in my document?
NO! STOP! If you remove the staples from the apostille certificate your document will more than likely be rejected by the receiving party.
How do I pay for your services?
We will email you an invoice that can be paid with a credit/debit card or you can pay for services through our scheduling calendar. Please note that the scheduling calendar is for a few documents. If you have more than three (3) documents please only select one document and we will calculate the remaining balance at the time of service.
My documents are not notarized. Can you help?
Yes. We offer mobile notary service and have a network of notaries that can be found in The Notary Family database. If you are located outside of the United States we have a network of notaries that can perform virtual or digital notarizations for you.
How do you get the California apostille certifications so fast?
We physically take your documents to the California Secretary of State office in Sacramento and present them to the Secretary of State.
How will I receive my documents once apostille is completed? Can you ship internationally to save me some time?
If you are local to us we can hand deliver your documents. We can ship the documents to you and no additional charge to you if within the continental US. If you want your documents shipped to you internationally we will provide you a shipping quote. We use USPS,FedEx and DHL.
Destination Weddings: I have been told that I need my birth certificate, passport, and something called a “Single Status Certificate” apostille for my destination wedding. Can you help me?
Yes!, we can help. You don’t need that kind of stress while you’re planning your destination wedding! Please call us to discuss your destination wedding date to ensure we can meet the deadline for your special day.