Apostilla / Apostille

California apostille guidelines:

The following documents qualify for CA apostilles: 

Original documents notarized by a CA notary. The requirements for notarization are strict in the State of California. See sample California notarial statements below.

Certified copies of vital records (birth, marriage, death certificates issued by California Department of Health Services, County Clerk/Recorders, County Registrar-Recorders, County Controller-Recorders, County Assessor-Recorders, and the State Registrar (Department of Public Health) (documents signed by County Health Officers, Deputy Health Officers, Health Care Agencies, or County Vital Records Sections require additional legalization steps and the processing will take longer).

certified copies issued by California courts

documents issued by CA Secretary of State

California apostille tips:

Issuance of a single Authentication certificate (Apostille):  Effective January 1, 2017, the California Secretary of State's office issues a single Authentication certificate for documents to be used outside of the country rather than issuing either an Apostille (for Hague countries) or Certificate (for non-Hague countries). For example, if your document is intended for use in China (which is a non-Hague country), California will issue an apostille for it, and then the document will need to go to the Embassy / Consulate of China. Read more about California apostille procedures...

California law does not allow notaries to make and certify copies of vital records (birth, death certificates) and other public records. Copies of vital records need to be obtained through California Department of Health Services, County Clerk/Recorders, County Registrar-Recorders, County Controller-Recorders, County Assessor-Recorders.

The document may be in a foreign language, no translation is required. However, the notarial statement has to be in English.

Documents must be correctly notarized with a jurat or acknowledgment statement. The jurat or acknowledgment statement should be for each individual signature.

Can a California apostille be verified?

The answer is "yes". We can verify CA apostilles issued after 01/01/2017.  You can verify it here, it is a free service provided by Foreign Documents Express.

What does a California apostille look like?

California notarization requirements:

The California notary acknowledgment form contains a specific disclaimer to the top of the form certificate of acknowledgment: "A notary public or other officer completing this certificate verifies only the identity of the individual who signed the document to which this certificate is attached, and not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of that document."  The disclaimer must be legible and in an enclosed box. Then, it states the venue: "State of California, County of ....", the notarial statement, the signature of the notary and the seal.

The California notary jurat form contains a specific disclaimer to the top of the form certificate of acknowledgment: "A notary public or other officer completing this certificate verifies only the identity of the individual who signed the document to which this certificate is attached, and not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of that document."  The disclaimer must be legible and in an enclosed box. Then, it states the venue: "State of California, County of ....", the notarial statement, the signature of the notary and the seal. See sample CA jurat (PDF file)

Documents must be correctly notarized with a jurat or acknowledgment statement. The jurat or acknowledgment statement should be for each individual signature.

Can a California apostille be issued 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.

According to the brochure issued by the Hague Convention (which clarifies many issues pertaining to apostilles), "failure to affix an Apostille to the public document in a particular manner is not a basis for refusing the Apostille". Read more...

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