Same Day Apostille & Notary Services in Southern California
No. The Convention entered into force for mainland China on 7 November 2023, and it already applied to Hong Kong and Macau.
Documents for China now need only an apostille. If a local office in China is still asking for consular legalization, show them the apostille and the accession date — occasionally an individual office has not updated its checklist.
Apostille questions?
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Popular questions
A certificate that authenticates the seal and signature on a public document so it can be used in another Hague Convention country without embassy involvement.
Read the full answer →An apostille is one step and is final. Embassy legalization is for non-Hague countries and adds a consulate step after the state authentication.
Read the full answer →No. It must be a certified copy from the issuing office, or a document notarized in front of a California notary.
Read the full answer →Whoever issued it. California records go to the California Secretary of State, federal records to the U.S. Department of State, out-of-state records to that state.
Read the full answer →Yes, through our out-of-state service. The document goes to the state that issued it, not to California.
Read the full answer →Yes. It is a federal document, so it goes to the U.S. Department of State in Washington — we handle that through our federal service.
Read the full answer →Yes. It must be a certified copy from the county recorder or CDPH — not a hospital souvenir certificate.
Read the full answer →A sworn statement that you are free to marry, required by most countries before a foreign wedding. We prepare, notarize, and apostille it.
Read the full answer →Sign it in front of a California notary — do not sign beforehand — then we apostille the notary's signature.
Read the full answer →Check our country lookup. Membership changes several times a year, so use a dated source rather than an old list.
Read the full answer →No. Canada joined the Hague Apostille Convention on 11 January 2024, so an apostille is now sufficient.
Read the full answer →Among common destinations: the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Thailand.
Read the full answer →From $75 per document. Embassy legalization, translation, and record retrieval are quoted separately.
Read the full answer →Same-day and next-day service is available for California documents. Federal and embassy work takes longer.
Read the full answer →Anaheim/Orange, Irvine, and San Juan Capistrano, plus mail-in service from anywhere.
Read the full answer →$25 per signature, in office or mobile.
Read the full answer →Call rather than ordering online. Tell us the real deadline and we will tell you honestly whether it is achievable.
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