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Need a California apostille fast? We submit your document in person to the California Secretary of State and return it to you with the apostille attached, often by the next business day. Since 2002, we’ve helped San Diego residents authenticate documents for dual citizenship, international marriage, overseas employment, business contracts, and more.
An apostille is a certificate that authenticates a public document for legal use in another country. The Hague Apostille Convention of 1961 created this system so member countries accept each other’s documents without multi-step embassy legalization.
In California, only the California Secretary of State issues apostilles. A notary cannot issue one. A notary’s job is to witness the signing of the document that later gets apostilled.
You probably need an apostille if you are:
Apostilles only work for Hague Convention member countries. For non-member countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, or Qatar, your document needs consular legalization after state certification.
We handle three main document categories.
Vital records must be certified copies from the County Recorder or the California Department of Public Health. Hospital-issued birth certificates and photocopies are not accepted by the Secretary of State. This is the most common cause of rejection.
Document from another state? See our out-of-state apostille service. We process apostilles for all 50 states.
Our four-step process:
All prices include one notarization and all government fees. The California Secretary of State charges $20 per apostille plus a $6 per-signature handling fee for in-person submissions. These are already built into our price. No surprises.
Most clients pick expedited or urgent. International deadlines don’t wait. If you have a flight, a visa appointment, a consulate interview, or a court date, urgent turnaround gives you next-business-day processing.
For notary rates and other services, see our pricing page.
People confuse these three paths. Here’s the difference.
For documents signed by a federal agency. FBI background checks, naturalization certificates (N-550, N-570), IRS Form 6166, DD-214 military discharge records, and US patents all need federal authentication from the US Department of State in Washington, DC.
See federal apostille →
For countries not part of the Hague Convention. The document first gets state or federal certification, then it goes to the destination country’s consulate or embassy for legalization.
Not sure which one you need? Call us at (619) 675-2220. Tell us the document and the destination country. We’ll tell you the exact path.
The Hague Apostille Convention has over 120 member countries. Your California apostille is legally recognized in all of them without further embassy steps.
China joined the Hague Convention in November 2023. California apostilles are now accepted in mainland China without consular legalization. This is a recent change many service providers still get wrong.
Heading to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, or another non-Hague country? You need embassy legalization, not an apostille. Call us and we’ll walk you through it.
For documents going abroad that also need translation, see our certified document translation service in over 100 languages.
San Diego has the largest military presence in the country and one of the most internationally connected populations in California. We work with clients across every apostille use case.
Our notary and apostille team covers all of San Diego County, including:
No. Only the California Secretary of State can issue an apostille in California. A notary can notarize the document that later gets apostilled, but they cannot issue the apostille itself. We handle both the notarization and the state submission for you.
It depends on the path. Mail submission to the Secretary of State runs 10 to 20 business days. Our in-person Sacramento submission runs 5 to 7 business days on regular service, 3 business days on expedited, and next business day on urgent.
Our California apostille pricing starts at $159 for regular service. Expedited is $349. Urgent (next business day) is $495. Each additional apostille in the same order is $119. The $20 state fee and $6 handling fee are included.
A notarization confirms the identity of the signer and is done by a notary public. An apostille certifies that the notary (or other state official) is authentic so the document can be used in another country. Most documents need both.
FBI background checks need a federal apostille, not a California apostille. These go through the US Department of State in Washington, DC. We handle this through our federal apostille service.
Only the state of origin can issue an apostille. If your document was issued in Texas, for example, it needs a Texas apostille. We coordinate out-of-state apostilles through our out-of-state apostille service.
Not for the apostille itself. Apostilles authenticate the document as-is. But many destination countries require a certified translation after the apostille is attached. We offer certified document translation in over 100 languages.
No. The California Secretary of State only apostilles certified copies from the County Recorder or the Department of Public Health. Hospital-issued birth certificates and photocopies are always rejected. If you need a certified copy, we can tell you how to get one before your appointment.
Yes. Our team travels anywhere in San Diego County for document pickup and return. Travel fees apply based on location. See our mobile notary service for details.
Rejections usually come from missing notarization, uncertified vital records, or expired documents. If the state rejects a submission we handle, we coordinate the fix and resubmit at cost. Call us first if you’re unsure, we’ll review your document before you pay.
Call (619) 675-2220 or book online. Office hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm, Saturday 11am to 3pm. Mobile service available 24/7 by appointment.
