Notary Irvine, Mobile Notary Services, Apostille Service

                                                                                                   
Apostille          888.346.8822

Apostille Services

In 1961 many nations joined together to create a simplified method of "legalizing" documents for universal recognition. Members of the conference, referred to as the Hague Convention, adopted a document referred to as an Apostille that would be recognized by all member nations. Since October 15, 1981, the United States has been part of the 1961 Hague Convention abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Only). The Convention provides for the simplified certification of public (including notarized) documents to be used in countries that have joined the convention. Documents destined for use in participating countries and their territories should be certified by one of the officials in the jurisdiction in which the document has been executed. Said official must have been designated as competent to issue certifications by "Apostille" (usually in the office of the State Secretary of State of his/her counterpart) as provided for by the 1961 Hague Convention.
 
An Apostille (pronounced "ah-po-steel") is simply the name for a specialized certificate, issued by the State Government. The Apostille is attached to your original document, to verify it is legitimate and authentic, and therefore it will be accepted internationally.The apostille consists of 10 elements. The Convention requires that all apostilles be numbered consecutively, with individual numbers applied to each apostille issued.The recognized standard Apostille contains a seal and 10 mandatory references: name of country from which the document emanates, name of person signing the document, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted, in the case of unsigned documents, the name of the authority that has affixed the seal or stamp, place of certification date of certification, the authority issuing the certificate, number of certificate, seal or stamp of authority issuing certificate and signature of authority issuing certificate.
 
Under no circumstances should customers detach the Apostille to photocopy the documents.
 
Documents sent to member nations, completed with an Apostille at the state level, may be submitted directly to the member nation without further action. Documents sent to non-member nations requiring a Certification of the signature of the state's public official at state level, then must be tramitted to Authenication Office of the Departnment of State in Washington, D.C. for authenication of the State Official's Signature.
 
The California Secretary of State provides authenication of public official signatures on documents to be used outside the United States of America. The country of destination determines whether the authentication is an Apostille or Certification
 
An Apostille is a certificate issued by the California Secretary of State that proves the authenticity of a public official  signature and seal. The Apostille is typically attached to a notarized document as proof of authentication when that document is being sent to a country which abides by the Hague Convention.
 
The Apostille certification is from the office of the Secretary of State, after reviewing the document's signature and validating it's legitimacy. It is an official state government certification. It is a full 8 1/2" x 11" page certificate, not simply a seal. The Apostille is permanently attached, and you cannot remove the staples or separate it from your original document.
 
All Apostille certificates will look the same for all the countries you request an Apostille for. There is no difference between an Apostille which will be used for Mexico and an Apostille for Russia. Similarly, there is no difference between an Apostille for a Birth Certificate and an Apostille for a Marriage Certificate, or a Power of Attorney or a Court Divorce Decree. The Apostille verbage made change due to destination county for Apostille.The Apostille will look the same. However, a few countries have a different requirement other than an Apostille, and your document would receive a Legalization Certificate instead.
 
Documents notarize by us or need Orange County Public official authenicated will normaly take between 1 to 2 business days to get an Apostille attached to it. Documents notarize by notaries outside of Orange County  or Documents with Public Officials outside of Orange County  may take longer, depending on what Southern California County they are register with.

Apostille Common Documents

Power of Attorney   Articles of Incorporation Articles of Organization  By Laws 
Certificates of Good Standings  Merger Agreements Deeds of Assignment Trademarks 
 Adoption Papers    Distributorship Agreement  Marriage Licenses  Birth Cerftificates
 Schools Records  References and Job Certifications  Background Checks  Patent Applications

Authenication of Schools records (e,g., college transcripts) must obtain a notarized copy of the record from the high school, university, etc., before submitting documents for authenication.
 
Any document executed by County Health Officers and County Local Registrars can be authenicated only if the document is first certified by the county clerk/recorder. Documents certified by a county official (e.g. county clerk) should have a certification date within the last five years or a new certified copy should be obtained from appropriate county official.
 
Apostille Services offer require documents to be submitted to Secretary of State for Apostille must be Authenicated by local County Clerk/Recorder Office and sign by appropriate public official or must be notarized by a California Notary Public. 

Authenication of Public Officials
 
California Secretary of State can only authenicate documents issued in the State of California by the following public officials and their deputies;
 
County Clerks or Recorders  Court Administrators  Excecutive Clerks   Judges of Superior Court  
Notaries Public  State Officials   Executive Officers  Officers whose authority is not limited to
any particular county