California apostille
Documents issued or notarised in California are apostilled by the California Secretary of State in Sacramento. We obtain it for you – birth and marriage certificates, diplomas, notarised powers of attorney, corporate documents – and deliver worldwide.
An apostille can only be issued by the jurisdiction whose official signed the document. For California that means: state and county documents (vital records, court documents, notary certificates, corporate filings) go to the California Secretary of State; federal documents – FBI Identity History Summaries, documents of federal agencies and federal courts – go to the US Department of State in Washington, DC.
The California Secretary of State issues apostilles in Sacramento and at the Los Angeles regional office; vital records must be certified copies issued by the county recorder or the California Department of Public Health.
Vital records must be certified copies issued by the county or state vital records office; hospital birth certificates, photocopies and scans cannot be apostilled. Private documents such as powers of attorney, affidavits or copies of diplomas are first signed before a notary public, and the apostille then confirms the notary’s commission.
Who apostilles what
- California Secretary of StateCalifornia vital records, court documents, notarised documents, corporate documents
- US Department of StateFBI background checks, federal agency documents, federal court documents, consular reports of birth abroad
A US apostille is not accepted in Kosovo (Article 12 objection); documents for these countries are legalised instead.
Documents we apostille from California
Birth certificate
Geburtsurkunde · acte de naissance · certificado de nacimiento
Requirements & feesMarriage certificate
Eheurkunde / Heiratsurkunde · acte de mariage · certificado de matrimonio
Requirements & feesUniversity degree & transcript
Hochschulzeugnis / Diplom / Urkunde · diplôme universitaire · título universitario
Requirements & feesPower of attorney
Vollmacht · procuration · poder notarial
Requirements & feesFBI background check
FBI-Führungszeugnis · casier judiciaire FBI · antecedentes penales del FBI
Requirements & feesCommercial register extract
Handelsregisterauszug · extrait Kbis · certificación del Registro Mercantil
Requirements & feesWhere will your California document be used?
Pick the destination and document type to see the route and start with the details pre-filled.
California apostille: questions
The California Secretary of State in Sacramento issues apostilles for public documents issued in California and for documents notarised by a California notary public. The California Secretary of State issues apostilles in Sacramento and at the Los Angeles regional office; vital records must be certified copies issued by the county recorder or the California Department of Public Health.
No. FBI reports and documents of federal agencies are apostilled only by the US Department of State, Office of Authentications, in Washington, DC.
Yes. You do not need to be in California – we order the certified copy, submit it to the California Secretary of State and ship the apostilled document to you anywhere in the world.
No. Only certified copies issued by the county or state vital records office carry a registrar signature the Secretary of State can apostille.
California documents, apostilled and delivered
Certified copy, notary, Secretary of State, translation and worldwide courier in one request.
Questions? Write to [email protected]