# Apostille in California

- **Source:** https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/california/
- **Title:** Apostille in California — United States | Andrii Co.
- **Language:** en · also published as Markdown at /{lang}/handbook/apostille/us/california/index.md for: en

> Apostille guide for California, United States: the competent authority is California Secretary of State — Notary Public Section (Apostille), Sacramento and Los Angeles. Verified 2026-08-09.

Everything below is transcribed from this office's own published sources and printed in its words. A value we could not confirm against an official page is marked "(unverified)" — but the absence of that marker is not a guarantee that a fact was checked, and the source's own doubts stay inside the notes reproduced here verbatim. Confirm fees, addresses and deadlines with the office before you send documents or money.

- **Jurisdiction:** California, United States
- **Verified as of:** August 9, 2026

## Who issues the apostille

California Secretary of State — Notary Public Section (Apostille), Sacramento and Los Angeles

## Which documents this office will accept

- **Copies:** "The document must be signed by a California public official or be an original notarized and/or certified document. A photocopy is not acceptable."
- **vital records:** must be certified copies signed by the authorized official (county recorder/clerk or CDPH State Registrar) unverified — not itemized on request page (unverified)
- **From the source:** No county-level pre-certification of notaries required

## Certifications you may need first

No additional certification step is required before the apostille.

## The request form

A PDF request form. Download: https://notary.cdn.sos.ca.gov/forms/apostille-request-form.pdf Mail cover sheet; Sacramento in-person cover sheet: https://notary.cdn.sos.ca.gov/forms/apostille-request-sac.pdf ; Los Angeles in-person cover sheet: https://notary.cdn.sos.ca.gov/forms/apostille-request-la.pdf

## Requesting online

There is no online request route — this office takes requests on paper. Mail or in person only

## Where to go in person

- **Sacramento** — 1500 11th Street, 3rd Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814 Open for walk-in service. Hours: not published for this office. Same-day service is offered. Walk-in public counter, no appointment, same-day (~30 min), +$6/signature special handling
- **Los Angeles** — 300 South Spring Street, Room 12513, Los Angeles, CA 90013 Open for walk-in service. Hours: not published for this office. Same-day service is offered. Temporarily operating 1st Floor, Suite 1215 due to elevator outage; walk-in, no appointment, same-day (~30 min), +$6/signature special handling, no cash

## What it costs

- **$20.00 USD** per document — "$20.00 per Apostille"
- **$6.00 USD** per signature — Applies to: special handling (in-person delivery) — In-person delivery adds "$6.00 Special Handling fee ... for each different public official's signature" being authenticated

## How to pay

- **By mail:** check or money order
- **In person:** card payment, check, money order, or cash
- The payee name is not published — confirm the payee on the official request form before you write a check.
- Sacramento in person: credit card (Visa/Mastercard), check, money order, or cash; Los Angeles in person: credit card (Visa/Mastercard), check, or money order — "Cash is not accepted at the Los Angeles office."; mail: check or money order only. Payee string not printed in the source block — confirm on the request cover sheet before mailing

## Where to send your documents

- **By U.S. Mail:** Notary Public Section, P.O. Box 942877, Sacramento, CA 94277-0001
- **By courier:** Notary Public Section, 1500 11th Street, 2nd Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814
- **From the source:** Courier address is for FedEx/UPS/DHL

## How long it takes

- **By mail:** Mail: office "currently processing Apostille requests received: 07/28/2026" (last updated Aug 7, 2026 — i.e., ~1.5-week backlog)
- **In person:** In person: "typically processed within 30 minutes after submission" (same day), both offices
- Observed July 28, 2026.

## Checking status and verifying an apostille

- **Verification register:** http://apostille-search.sos.ca.gov/

## Remote online notarization

- Enacted but not yet operative — and the date it becomes operative is conditional.
- **Legal basis:** Online Notarization Act added by SB 696 (Ch. 291, Stats. 2023); operative on the earlier of January 1, 2030 or the date the Secretary of State certifies completion of its technology project (NAP 2.0). Current SOS handbook (2026): "current California Law does not provide the authority for California notaries to perform a remote online notarization using audio-video communication."
- **Registration:** Will be required when operative — "A notary public shall not provide online notarization for any principal prior to registration with the Secretary of State or prior to completion of the Secretary of State's technology project" (Gov. Code § 8231(b))
- **How the signer is identified:** When operative: credential analysis plus identity proofing performed at least at Identity Assurance Level 2 per NIST SP 800-63A (June 2017) (Gov. Code §§ 8231.3(a)(5), 8231.9); personal knowledge plus oath/identification elements also referenced in § 8231.9. Until then, no remote identity-proofing regime exists
- **Standard notarial act cap:** $15.00 USD
- No maximum fee is recorded here for a remote act. A missing cap is not the same as "no cap" — the reason is in the notes below.
- **From the source:** Max RON fee not yet set — SB 696 establishes no RON-specific dollar cap; fee treatment pending SOS rules (unverified). Standard fees, Gov. Code § 8211: acknowledgment $15 per signature; jurat $15 per signature; oath/affirmation $15; deposition services $30 plus $7 (oath to witness) and $7 (certificate to deposition); certifying copy of power of attorney $15; immigration forms $15 per individual per set. Out-of-state notarizations (including RON performed lawfully in other states) are generally recognized for acknowledgments under Civ. Code § 1189(b) (unverified on SOS page); SB 696 will require audio-video recording, electronic journal, separate online-notary surety bond when operative

## Other things the source says

SOS also holds periodic county-partnered "Apostille Pop-Up Shop" events (e.g., Kern County 2026, San Diego County 2024)

> **RCW 42.45.230(5):** I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in this state. I am not allowed to draft legal records, give advice on legal matters, including immigration, or charge a fee for those activities.

## Other United States jurisdictions (Markdown)

- [Apostille in Federal](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/federal/index.md)
- [Apostille in Federal courts](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/federal-courts/index.md)
- [Apostille in Consular records (CRBA)](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/consular-records/index.md)
- [Apostille in Alabama](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/alabama/index.md)
- [Apostille in Alaska](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/alaska/index.md)
- [Apostille in American Samoa](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/american-samoa/index.md)
- [Apostille in Arizona](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/arizona/index.md)
- [Apostille in Arkansas](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/arkansas/index.md)
- [Apostille in Colorado](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/colorado/index.md)
- [Apostille in Connecticut](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/connecticut/index.md)
- [Apostille in Delaware](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/delaware/index.md)
- [Apostille in District of Columbia](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/district-of-columbia/index.md)
- [Apostille in Florida](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/florida/index.md)
- [Apostille in Georgia](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/georgia/index.md)
- [Apostille in Guam](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/guam/index.md)
- [Apostille in Hawaii](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/hawaii/index.md)
- [Apostille in Idaho](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/idaho/index.md)
- [Apostille in Illinois](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/illinois/index.md)
- [Apostille in Indiana](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/indiana/index.md)
- [Apostille in Iowa](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/iowa/index.md)
- [Apostille in Kansas](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/kansas/index.md)
- [Apostille in Kentucky](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/kentucky/index.md)
- [Apostille in Louisiana](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/louisiana/index.md)
- [Apostille in Maine](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/maine/index.md)
- [Apostille in Maryland](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/maryland/index.md)
- [Apostille in Massachusetts](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/massachusetts/index.md)
- [Apostille in Michigan](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/michigan/index.md)
- [Apostille in Minnesota](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/minnesota/index.md)
- [Apostille in Mississippi](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/mississippi/index.md)
- [Apostille in Missouri](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/missouri/index.md)
- [Apostille in Montana](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/montana/index.md)
- [Apostille in Nebraska](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/nebraska/index.md)
- [Apostille in Nevada](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/nevada/index.md)
- [Apostille in New Hampshire](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/new-hampshire/index.md)
- [Apostille in New Jersey](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/new-jersey/index.md)
- [Apostille in New Mexico](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/new-mexico/index.md)
- [Apostille in New York](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/new-york/index.md)
- [Apostille in North Carolina](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/north-carolina/index.md)
- [Apostille in North Dakota](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/north-dakota/index.md)
- [Apostille in Northern Mariana Islands](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/northern-mariana-islands/index.md)
- [Apostille in Ohio](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/ohio/index.md)
- [Apostille in Oklahoma](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/oklahoma/index.md)
- [Apostille in Oregon](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/oregon/index.md)
- [Apostille in Pennsylvania](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/pennsylvania/index.md)
- [Apostille in Puerto Rico](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/puerto-rico/index.md)
- [Apostille in Rhode Island](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/rhode-island/index.md)
- [Apostille in South Carolina](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/south-carolina/index.md)
- [Apostille in South Dakota](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/south-dakota/index.md)
- [Apostille in Tennessee](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/tennessee/index.md)
- [Apostille in Texas](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/texas/index.md)
- [Apostille in U.S. Virgin Islands](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/us-virgin-islands/index.md)
- [Apostille in Utah](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/utah/index.md)
- [Apostille in Vermont](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/vermont/index.md)
- [Apostille in Virginia](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/virginia/index.md)
- [Apostille in Washington](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/washington/index.md)
- [Apostille in West Virginia](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/west-virginia/index.md)
- [Apostille in Wisconsin](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/wisconsin/index.md)
- [Apostille in Wyoming](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/wyoming/index.md)

## All jurisdictions (Markdown)

- [Apostille requirements, jurisdiction by jurisdiction](https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/index.md)

## Other pages on this site (Markdown)

- [All international document services. One stop location in Washington state.](https://andrii.co/en/index.md)
- [Mobile notary and expedited apostille for Greater Seattle](https://andrii.co/en/notary/index.md)
- [Book a notary or apostille appointment](https://andrii.co/en/notary/booking/index.md)
- [Form I-9 verification, done in person and on time](https://andrii.co/en/notary/i9/index.md)
- [Washington State apostille](https://andrii.co/en/apostille/index.md)
- [Service of process, served right and proven on paper.](https://andrii.co/en/service-of-process/index.md)
- [We chase the record so you don't have to.](https://andrii.co/en/vital-records/index.md)
- [A real address that answers your mail and tells you about it.](https://andrii.co/en/registered-agent/index.md)
- [A local face in Washington](https://andrii.co/en/commercial-representation/index.md)
- [Privacy notice](https://andrii.co/en/privacy/index.md)
- [Terms of Service](https://andrii.co/en/terms/index.md)

---

Andrii Co. · notary@andrii.co · (206) 319-3543 · 11826 NE 167th St, Bothell, WA 98011

HTML version of this page: https://andrii.co/en/handbook/apostille/us/california/ · AI index: https://andrii.co/llms.txt · Full site text: https://andrii.co/llms-full.txt