Apostille for Birth Certificate

The California Secretary of State can only apostille birth certificates for people who were born in California. If the person was born in another state, you have to get the apostille through that state's Secretary of State. We may be able to help with apostilling birth certificates from other states--call +1 (415) 655-9455 for processing time and rates.

If the person named on the birth certificate was born in California, proceed to step 2.

The California Secretary of State will only apostille certified copies of birth certificates--no scans or photocopies. You can order a certified copy from the county in which the person was born. We may be able to order a certified copy for you--call +1 (415) 655-9455 for processing time and rates.

If you have an original or certified copy of a California birth certificate, proceed to step 3.

We will take your certified copy of a California birth certificate to Sacramento to be apostilled. The California Secretary of State will check the name and signature of signing official (usually a County Clerk or Public Health Officer) and then issue an apostille. For countries that have signed the Hague Convention for Apostilles, no further legalization is needed. For countries that have not signed the Hague Convention, a consular visit will be necessary.

For more information about California apostilles or Hague member countries, call +1 (415) 655-9455.

If the birth certificate is being authenticated for a country that that has not signed the Hague Convention, proceed to step 4.

If the birth certificate is being authenticated for one of the countries that has signed the Hague Convention, skip to step 5.

Countries that have not signed the Hague Convention for Apostilles require additional processing for birth certificate legalization. Typically, this is done at the country's consular office in San Francisco. After we get the birth certificate apostilled by the California Secretary of State, we will bring it to the relevant consulate for legalization.

For more information about the process for non-Hague countries, call +1 (415) 655-9455.

You're almost done! To decide what to do with the document, proceed to step 5.

Once the birth certificate has been apostilled/authenticated, we can send it back to you or directly to the receiving country. Shipping within the United States is included in the apostille price. For shipping rates to other countries, call +1 (415) 655-9455 for a quote.

Once you know where the document is going, you're ready to order. Proceed to step 6.

If you know the answers to all of the above questions, you're ready to place an order. You can place your order online or over the phone at +1 (415) 655-9455.

To place your order online, click here.