California Apostilles

An apostille is a standardized authentication certificate issued under the Hague Convention of 1961. It verifies that a public document is genuine so it can be legally recognized in another country without further authentication. In the United States, apostilles are issued either by a state’s Secretary of State office (for state documents) or by the US Department of State (for federal documents).

An apostille is required whenever you need to use a US government document in another country that is a member of the Hague Convention of 1961. Common situations include immigrating abroad, getting married in a foreign country, enrolling in a foreign university, applying for dual citizenship, working overseas, and adopting a child internationally. For countries outside the Hague Convention, a legalization process is required instead.

Any document bearing the signature or seal of a government official can receive an apostille. Common examples include birth certificates, marriage licenses, death certificates, divorce decrees, court orders, FBI background checks, National Archives records, powers of attorney, notarized affidavits, and federal agency correspondence such as USCIS Certificates of Non-Existence. Both wet (handwritten) and digital signatures qualify at the federal level; state-level acceptance of digital signatures varies.

Only the authority that has jurisdiction over the signing official can issue an apostille. For state documents, that is the Secretary of State in the state where the document was issued. For federal documents, that is the US Department of State, Office of Authentications in Washington, DC. A state Secretary of State cannot apostille a federal document, and the Department of State cannot apostille a state document.

The issuing authority depends on which government issued the original document. State documents – birth, marriage, and death certificates, court orders, notarized documents – must go to that state’s Secretary of State office. Federal documents – FBI background checks, NARA records, naturalization certificates – must go to the US Department of State. Using the wrong authority results in automatic rejection. See our state apostille and federal apostille pages for details.

US states generally do not impose a recency rule on the documents themselves, with two notable exceptions: New York requires vital records to have been issued within the past 6 months and notarized documents to have been notarized within the past 90 days, and Virginia requires documents to have been issued or signed within 12 months of the apostille date. Most destination countries impose their own recency windows on top of any state rule – commonly 3 to 12 months from the date the underlying document was issued – particularly for FBI background checks and vital records used in immigration. Confirm the destination country’s requirements before ordering your underlying document.

A certified copy is a copy of an official record issued by the government office that holds the original – typically the state vital records office for birth, marriage, and death certificates, or the court clerk for divorce decrees. It bears the registrar’s or clerk’s signature, a raised or embossed seal, and security paper. Signs of a genuine certified copy: full color, double-sided, security or cloth-like paper, raised seals, and uniform cut edges. Black-and-white photocopies on standard paper are not certified copies and will be rejected by the Secretary of State.

No. Apostille50 authenticates documents that you provide. Certified copies must be ordered from the state vital records office or court clerk that holds the original record. FBI Identity History Summaries must be ordered from the FBI or an FBI-approved channeler. Certified translations must be arranged separately if your destination country requires them. We do not obtain copies, FBI reports, or translations on your behalf.

Yes. Email info@apostille50.com after your order is delivered and we will email a PDF scan of the apostilled document at no charge.

Apostille50 authenticates US documents only. If your underlying document was issued abroad – for example, a foreign death certificate or a divorce finalized outside the United States – it typically needs to be legalized through the destination country’s embassy or consulate rather than apostilled through a US authority. The foreign document cannot be submitted to a US state Secretary of State or to the US Department of State for an apostille. Contact us at info@apostille50.com and we will confirm what applies to your situation.

Not at the time of the apostille – only at the time of notarization. If the notary’s commission has since expired or been revoked, the document remains apostille-eligible as long as the commission was active when the notarization took place. Some destination countries may apply their own rules about whether to accept documents signed by now-expired notaries, so confirm with the receiving authority if this is a concern.

Yes. We work with US citizens and non-US citizens worldwide, including customers who currently live abroad. Documents must still originate from a US state or federal agency – we do not authenticate foreign-issued documents. Documents are returned by trackable mail to the address you provide; international return shipping is available for an additional fee, contact info@apostille50.com to arrange it.

Yes. A single order can include apostilles from any combination of states – or a mix of state and federal apostilles. The $100 service charge is charged once per order regardless of how many states or documents are involved, and each state’s apostille fee is added per document. Documents from different states can be mailed together to Apostille50; we handle the separate submissions to each Secretary of State on your behalf.

Banks, UPS Stores, shipping centers (FedEx Office, PostalAnnex), courthouses, law offices, real estate offices, insurance offices, and some public libraries commonly offer notary services. Bank notary services are often free to account holders; other locations typically charge a small per-document fee. Many states also accept remote online notarization (RON) – check that your destination country accepts RON documents before choosing this option.

It depends on the document. Documents originally issued on paper – birth certificates, marriage licenses, court orders, notarized instruments – must be mailed as originals. Photocopies and scans cannot be apostilled. Documents originally issued digitally – FBI background checks, certain federal correspondence – can be submitted electronically via email to info@apostille50.com or through the upload portal on your order confirmation page.

Mail originals using a trackable service (USPS Priority Mail Preferred). Do not fold the documents. Send to: Apostille50, PO BOX 160, Germantown, MD 20875. You will receive an email confirmation when your documents arrive.

Federal apostilles through Apostille50 take approximately 2 weeks, versus 6–8 weeks for standard DIY mail-in. State processing times vary by state, typically ranging from a few business days to several weeks.

Yes. While standard return shipping within the US is included at no charge, we can arrange international shipping for an additional fee. Contact info@apostille50.com after placing your order to coordinate international return shipping.

If you need to change the address where your documents will be returned, email info@apostille50.com as soon as possible. We can update your return address as long as your documents have not yet been shipped.

Apostille50 charges a flat $100 service charge per order, plus the applicable state fee per apostille ($1–$50 depending on the state, median $10). Federal apostilles are $75 per document with no service charge for federal-only orders. Return shipping is always included. See the exact cost before checkout on the Order page.

Yes. If your order only includes federal apostilles, there is no service charge – you pay $75 per document. If you add one or more state apostilles to the same order, the standard $100 service charge applies.

Countries outside the Hague Convention require consular legalization rather than a simple apostille. This is a multi-step chain certification involving US Department of State authentication followed by the destination country’s embassy or consulate. Apostille50 handles legalization as well – a federal legalization fee of $75 per document applies in addition to the standard $100 service charge. The Order page flags non-Hague countries automatically.