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Apostille, Authentication, & Certifications

If you are planning on sending documents to a foreign country, traveling internationally, or having a destination marriage in Mexico, you may be required to have your documents certified by your State's Secretary of State's office to provide the validity of the documents and the Notary who notarized the documents. Essentially, this provides an extra layer of security against fraud for foreign governments. Depending on the country, they may refer to this process as an Apostille, certification, or authentication; regardless of the name, the process is always the same.

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Cali State Notary offers Apostille Services in California and is up-to-date on the filling process for the Sacramento Secretary of State Office. We are here to make the Apostille process as simple and easy for you as possible and hope that you will allow us to help you get through the process as painlessly as possible.

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PLEASE NOTE: Documents recorded in another state such as Birth and Death certificates, or a Deed of Trust, must be apostilled by the State it was recorded in. In addition, documents can only be Apostilled in California, if the Notary who performed the Notarization is also located in California.

Process Breakdown

  1. Once you have made your appointment, we will notarize your document(s). The fee is $15 per notarized signature. The California Secretary of State's fee to apostille, authenticate or certify your documents is $26. A small travel fee of $50 is added to all notarizations.

  2. You will need to decide before the appointment if the receiving county needs the documents to be translated by a certified translator. Translation services start at $30 and require an additional 1-5 days for processing. Ensure all translations include a Certificate of Authenticity unless the translation is part of the document(s).

  3. You will need to decide before your appointment how quickly you need your documents returned. Currently, we go to the Sacramento Secretary of State every Tuesday, except for Public Holidays. The turnaround processing time for mailed-in documents is 15 business days.

Below are some Events & Activities that often Require Apostille Services

Adopting Children Abroad

Background Checks (Federal and/or State)

Destination Weddings

Estate Matters

Inheritance Matters

Job Transfers

Making Aliyah to Israel

Obtaining Overseas Patents

Overseas Banking

Pension Verifications

Relocating Abroad

Teaching Abroad

Overseas Real Estate Transactions

Proof of Birth and/or Death

Starting a new Business Overseas

Verification of Identity

Dual Citizenships
Burials

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Setting up your Appointment & Cost

  1. The person signing the document must understand the documents, have the mental capacity to sign them, and have a valid US Driver's License or passport or provide two Credible witnesses. Using a Credible witness requires that they have a valid US Driver's License or Passport, and they must sign an affidavit stating the signer is who they say they are. 

  2.  You will need to know the exact number of signatures needed per document before contacting us. Notarizations will be billed at $15 per notarized signature. An additional travel fee of $50 is added to all notarizations.

  3. You will need to choose if you want to have the documents sent via USPS, UPS, or FedEx to the Secretary of State, or you would like me to hand deliver to Sacramento on Tuesdays. Your documents, once notarized, will be sent to the Secretary of State with return postage to you. Be sure you enter the correct address!

    1. Send by US Mail with tracking + $50 (includes Shipping to the Secretary of State's office and back to you).​

    2. Send by UPS/FedEx standard with tracking + $100 (includes shipping to the Secretary of State's Office and back to you).

    3. Send by UPS/FedEx priority overnight with tracking + $240 (includes shipping to the Secretary of State's Office and back to you).

    4. Hand delivery to the Secretary of State. Done weekly on Tuesdays, except for on State Holidays; and hand-delivered to you.+ $25.

  4. We will complete all necessary paperwork, ship or hand deliver to the Secretary of State's Office for you, and have them returned to you. The estimated turnaround time for US mail is 25 to 45 days. The estimated turnaround time for UPS or FedEx is 20 -25 days. Hand-delivered items are 7 - 10 days. Cali State Notary unfortunately has no control over shipping or processing times.

  5. Cali State Notary charges a $175 processing fee that covers travel, waiting and courier fees necessary to process your appointment.

Frequently asked questions

I offer Mobile Notary Services in all of Stanislaus County, including the following zip codes: 95355, 95350, 94550, 95351, 95307, 95380, 95382, 95356, 95361, 95358, 95363, 95354, 95367, 95357, 95360, 95326, 95368, 95386, 95316, 95328, 95230, 95329, 95385, 95313, 95323, 95319, 95353, 95352, 95381, 95387, 95397; and Cities: including Ceres, Crows Landing, Diablo Grande, Denair, Eugene, Empire, Grayson, Hickman, Hughson, Keyes, Knights Ferry, La Grange, Modesto, Monterey Park Tract, Montpelier, Newman, Oakdale, Patterson, Riverbank,  Riverdale Park Tract, Salida, Turlock, Valley Home, Vernalis, Waterford and Westley.

WE ARE NOT ATTORNEYS LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, AND WE MAY NOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE OR ACCEPT FEES FOR LEGAL ADVICE.

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©2025 by Cali State Notary, LLC

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