A California Certified Copy is a copy of a Business Document which includes an endorsement, with an accompanying Certificate or Seal, of the California Secretary of State which states that the document is a true copy of the Business Document originally filed with the California Secretary of State.  A Certified Copy of a California Business Document also includes the date that the Document was Certified by the California Secretary of State.  A California Certified Copy of a Business Document is normally a photocopy.

A California Certified Copy bears the signature of a representative of the CA Secretary of State. 

When the California Secretary of State issues a Certified Copy of a Corporate Document, this means that the California Certified Copy is a true, accurate and valid copy of the CA Corporate Document that the Secretary of State has on file.

A Plain Copy of a California Business Document is just what the name implies.  It is simply a photocopy of a Business Document.  There are no endorsements, stamps or seals on a Plain Copy of a California Business Document.

Most legal, government and financial institutions require Certified Copies of Business Documents rather than Plain Copies when dealing with official matters.

Some of the reasons why you might need a California Certified Copy of your Business Documents:

• Bank loans
• Tax filings
• Foreign Business qualification
• Replace original CA Business Documents
• Provide legal proof of California Business Registration

If you are responsible for the Business records of a California Corporation or a California LLC it is important to retain on file Certified Copies of your Formation Documents - your Articles of Incorporation for Corporations or your Articles of Organization for LLCs; as well as all Amendments to your original Articles.

The California Secretary of State issues a Good Standing Certificate to California Corporations and LLCs which are up to date with all administrative requirements.

The California Secretary of State will Certify any Business Document which has been filed with that office.  On the other hand, the California Secretary of State generally does not Certify Documents which are issued by that office.

So, no the California Secretary of State will not Certify a Good Standing Certificate or any other document which is issued by that office.

A Corporation or LLC which is registered in one state and wants to do business in another state must first qualify as a "Foreign Corporation" or a "Foreign LLC" in the state in which it wants to do business. 

For example, a Corporation or LLC that is registered in California wants to do business in Florida.  The California Corporation or LLC must qualify as a Florida Foreign Corporation or LLC. 

Some states require a Certified Copy of the formation documents, called Articles of Incorporation for a Corporation or Articles of Organization for an LLC, from the Foreign Corporation's home state. 

We can get your California Certified Copies within 5-7 business days for $50.00 plus state Document fees.

If you need your California Certified Copies quicker we can usually get them from the California Secretary of State within 2-3 hours for $80.00 plus state Document fees.  (Our expedited processing fee also includes any additional state fees for the CA Secretary of State's expedited process.)

Depending on the Document, the California Secretary of State may take longer to Certify Business Documents filed more than around ten years in the past.
We are dependent on, and have no control over, the staff and systems of the California Secretary of State.  We get your California Certified Copies order to the CA Secretary of State as soon as possible after we receive your order.  Once it is at the state we have no control over California Secretary of State processing times.
The processing times specified on this web page are the times it usually takes the California Secretary of State to process orders for Certified Copies of Business Documents. 

The CA Secretary of State charges $5.00 for each Certified Copy of a Business Document.  We charge a processing fee of $50.00 for our standard processing.  We can usually get your California Certified Copies in 5-7 business days with our standard processing.  With our expedited processing option we can usually get your California Certified Copies within 2-3 hours.

No. We cannot get copies of vital records such as California Birth Certificates or Marriage Licenses. For those kinds of documents you will have to contact the County Clerk in the California County in which the Documents were issued.

If you are ready to order California Certified Copies online now just fill in the form below and click Place Order.  As soon as we receive your order for California Certified Copies we will start processing it immediately.