NQa Legal Research
-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED-
September 25, 2020
1. What is an Apostille and what is its purpose?
An Apostille is a certificate that authenticates the signature of a public official on a document
for use in another country.
An Apostille 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.
The Apostille does not validate the contents of the document
1. What is the benefit of an Apostille and how is it different from the Authentication
Certificate ("Red Ribbon")?
The Apostille streamlines the whole authentication procedure of documents for use
abroad resulting to more convenience, less cost and processing time for the applicants.
Before Apostille, a Philippine document to be used abroad needs a Certification by the
relevant government agency or office, Authentication by the DFA and Authentication
(Legalization) by the Embassy of the country of destination.
With the Apostille, the aforementioned document will no longer require legalization by
the Foreign Embassy if the country of destination is already a Member of the Apostille
Convention (or an "Apostille Country.") Once Apostillized, the document can be validly
used in any and all Apostille Countries.
Source: https://www.sos.ca.gov/notary/apostille-faqs
From the website link provided by Mr. Zaldarriaga
COVID-19 Announcement
Service Changes Currently in Effect
The Sacramento public counter is currently closed. In lieu of in-person service, apostille
requests may be dropped off in the designated bin on the first floor. Please be mindful of the
following:
The fee of $20.00 per Apostille requested must be paid by check or money order.
The $6.00 special handling fee is required. For more detailed information on fees, please visit
our Frequently Asked Questions webpage.
Requests will be processed on a first in, first out basis.
Documents will be returned by mail to the address indicated on the cover sheet.
Effective Monday, August 3, 2020, our Los Angeles Regional office will be open to the public
between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., with limited staff and services processing Apostilles and
Domestic Partnership filings. Los Angeles will continue to handle traffic with our “Now
Serving” sign by helping four customers at a time while other customers wait on the second floor
until their number is called. Again, you are encouraged to submit documents to the Sacramento
office via mail.
There are two ways to obtain an Apostille in California:
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 document signed by a California public official or an original notarized and/or certified
document. A photocopy is not acceptable.
A cover sheet stating the country in which the document will be used. You may use
our Apostille Mail Request Cover Sheet, or write your own.
A check or money order payable to Secretary of State in the amount of $20.00 per Apostille
requested.
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:
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:
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. Please refer to our Current Processing Times webpage to see the
most up-to-date information.
In Person - An Apostille can be requested in person at our Sacramento and Los Angeles offices.
How to Request an Apostille in Person in 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, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions webpage.
Payments can be made via cash, check, money order, Visa or Mastercard.
Questions?
Note: If a birth or death certificate has the signature of a Health Officer or County Registrar
(e.g. Local Registrar, Registrar of Vital Records), prior to presenting to our office for
authentication, one of the following will be required:
Have that birth or death certificate certified by the county clerk’s office in the county in which it
was issued; or
Obtain a certified copy of that birth or death certificate from the county recorder or State of
California Department of Public Health.
