Apostille for Marriage Certificate

The California Secretary of State can only apostille marriage certificates for people who were wed in California. If the marriage happend in another state, you have to get the apostille through that state's Secretary of State. We may be able to help with apostilling marriage certificates from other states--call +1 (415) 239-6600 for processing time and rates.

If the marriage certificate is from California, proceed to step 2.

The California Secretary of State will only apostille certified copies of marriage certificates--no scans or photocopies. You can order a certified copy from the county in which the marriage was made official. We may be able to order a certified copy for you--call +1 (415) 239-6600 for processing time and rates.

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

We will take your certified copy of a California marriage certificate to Sacramento to be apostilled. The California Secretary of State will check the name and signature of the County Clerk 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) 239-6600.

If the marriage certificate is being authenticated for a country that that has not signed the Hague Convention, proceed to step 4. If the marriage 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 marriage-certificate legalization. Typically, this is done at the country's consular office in San Francisco. After we get the marriage 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) 239-6600.

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

Once the marriage 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) 239-6600 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) 239-6600.

To place your order online, click here.