Apostille is a certificate that authenticates the signature of a public official on a document for use in

another country. An Apostille does not validate the contents of the document. It 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.

Any individual can request an Apostille. When requesting an Apostille in person, no person(s) named
in the document must be present. Additionally, the requester does not need to be related to any person(s)
named in the document.

An Apostille can only be issued for documents to be used outside the United States of America.
Apostilles cannot be issued 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.

There are two ways to obtain an Apostille in California:

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

 Mail requests are processed by the Sacramento office only.

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

a. A document signed by a California public official or an original notarized and/or certified

document. A photocopy is not acceptable.
b. A cover sheet stating the country in which the document will be used.
c. A check or money order payable to Secretary of State in the amount of $20.00 per
Apostille requested.
d. 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:

a. 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:

a. Notary Public Section

1500 11th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
 Documents are processed in the order they are received and are typically processed within 8-
10 business days from the date received. However, during high volume periods, documents
may take longer to be processed.

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

For Sacramento:
 Secretary of State (Sacramento)
1500 11th Street, 2nd Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814

 Apostille requests can be presented for processing between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday
through Friday (excluding state holidays).
 Requests are processed on a first come, first served basis. The wait time is typically 30-60 minutes.
 The person presenting an Apostille request does not need to be related to any person(s) named
in the document. Additionally, no person(s) named in the document needs to be present for the
request.
 The fee will be $20.00 for each Apostille requested with an additional $6.00 special handling fee.
For more detailed information on fees.
 Payments can be made via cash, check, money order, Visa or Mastercard.

For Los Angeles:

Secretary of State (Los Angeles)

300 South Spring Street, Room 12513
Los Angeles, CA 90013

 Apostille requests can be presented for processing between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday
through Friday (excluding state holidays).
 Requests are processed on a first come, first served basis. The wait time is typically 30-60 minutes.
 The person presenting an Apostille request does not need to be related to any person(s) named
in the document. Additionally, no person(s) named in the document needs to be present for the
request.
 The fee will be $20.00 for each Apostille requested with an additional $6.00 special handling fee.
For more detailed information on fees.
 Payments can be made via check, money order, Visa or Mastercard. The Los Angeles office
does not accept cash.