Here are frequently asked questions about apostilles. If you need more information, please contact us. We are available via telephone toll-free, instant online chat, email, or fax!
If you go to a foreign country and need to show someone an official document (for example, a foreign university or government agency), they don't know whether your American document is legitimate. They will tell you you need to get an apostille. What they really mean is that you have to get an apostille attached to your document. Once you've done that, they will accept your document as valid.
What is an apostille?
In California, the California Secretary of State will affix an apostille to documents that have been properly certified or notarized. Once the apostille is attached, you can use the document in most foreign countries.
In 1961, most of the countries in the world got together to hold a Conference on Private International Law at the Hague in the Netherlands. As part of this conference, they agreed to rules for authenticating documents between each other. As a result, it is much easier to authenticate documents between states that signed the convention. (Note that if a particular country did not sign the convention, then it will not respect your apostille.)
Here is a list of countries that will accept your apostille:
Netherlands (including Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles)
New Zealand (including Niue)
Norway
Panama
Poland
Portugal
Republic of Macedonia (former Yugoslav)
Romania
Russia
St. Kitts and Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Serbia
Seychelles
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
South Africa
Spain
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Turkey
Tuvalu
Ukraine
United Kingdom (including Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Anguilla, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands, Montserrat, St. Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the British Virgin Islands)
United States of America (including American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands)
Vanuatu
Venezuela
What is the apostille process?
First, the document must be notarized or certified. If the document was issued by a local government agency, then it is probably certified. The Secretary of State can take a certified document and attach the apostille. You can then show the document to a foreign government and it should be accepted as legitimate.
If the document was not certified by a local government agency, it is still possible to get an apostille. First, you have to get the document notarized. You can appear in person in a notary's office and testify that the document is true and correct, and the notary will affix their seal. The California Secretary of State can take a notarized document and attach the apostille.
If you are in a foreign country and need a document notarized, it may still be possible. You can ask the body that issued the document to send a new copy directly to the notary; that way the notary knows it's legitimate. You can even get the Secretary of State to notarize the document and then attach the apostille.
Pacific Corporate Filings can handle this process for you. In some cases, we may need you to sign an affidavit giving us permission to obtain the document on your behalf.
What kind of document do I have?
Certified documents
The document is certified by one of the following government government officials:
Country Clerk or Recorder
Court Administrator
Executive Clerk (of a government agency)
Higher level of local government (like a trans-country official)
Executive officer (of a government agency)
Superior Court Judge
State Official
Notary Public
Non-Certified Documents
If your document was not certified by a government official (see above), then you will probably need to obtain a new copy of the document. Pacific Corporate Filings can help you do that. Once we obtain a new copy, we will need to notarize it. After that, we can have it certified and apostilled for you.
Corporate Documents
Using Pacific Corporate Filings, you can instantly order an apostilled copy of any of the following corporate documents:
Formation Articles
Statement and Designation (Foreign Companies)
Statement of Information
Amendments
Mergers
Certification of Dissolution/Cancellation
Cancellation
Restated Articles
Certificate of Surrender
Statement of Conversion
Good Standing Certificate
Certified Copy
We can also provide notary services for all these documents.
Examples
Birth Certificate
County Birth Certificate (Certified): The certificate is issued by the county government and affixed with an official seal. This document is certified.
What we can do: Pacific Corporate Filings can schedule a Fedex pickup of your document. We will hand-submit it to the California Secretary of State to obtain an apostille. When we get it back, we will ship it Fedex priority back to you, all for a flat fee.
Hospital Certificate (Non-Certified): You are living in Paris and need to show someone an apostilled version of your birth certificate. The certificate was issued by the hospital itself and signed by the doctor. No government agency is involved.
What we can do: We cannot accept your non-certified document. However, we can order a new copy on your behalf, directly from the hospital. We will have the document notarized, certified, and apostilled by the California Secretary of State. When we get it back, we will ship it Fedex priority back to you, all for a flat fee.
School Transcript
School transcripts are usually issued by the school in a sealed envelope that must never be opened, except by the receiving school's administrator. The contents of the envelope and the name of the clerk at the school therefore cannot be reviewed and identified, which violates notary law and procedure.
However, Pacific Corporate Filings can still get you a valid apostille on your school transcript. We will send a Notary Public to the school and have the school administrator sign an affidavit in the notary's presence, testifying to the contents of the envelope. Once the sealed envelope has been notarized, Pacific Corporate Services will hand-deliver the document to the California Secretary of State to be certified and apostilled. When we get it back, we will ship it Fedex priority back to you, all for a flat fee.
What Pacific Corporate Filings can do for you
We can handle every step of the apostille process for California documents. All you have to do is fill out a form and pay the flat fee of $250.
$250 flat fee includes:
Scheduled Fedex pickup at your doorstep almost anywhere in the world, with priority shipping to our office in California
Obtain a new copy of your document (if necessary)
Notary service
Hand-deliver to the California Secretary of State for rush service
Priority Fedex shipping back to your doorstep
Why we're the best
What makes us the best source for California apostilles?
Easy: We take out all the guesswork. We can apostille almost any type of document. We'll do all the research and legwork so you don't have to.
Fast: Since our office is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are uniquely positioned to process apostilles faster than anyone else. We maintain a personal relationship with the California state staff in both San Francisco and Sacramento.
Convenient: No one else will schedule Fedex delivery "to and from" your doorstep.
Cheap: We'll do it for less than most other places. "And" with better service.
