California Apostille by Mail: Do You Have to Go in Person?
No, you don't have to go yourself. According to the California Secretary of State, anyone can request an apostille for themselves or for someone else, and documents can be sent by mail.
Who can file the request
Under Article 5 of the 1961 Convention, an apostille is issued at the request of the person who signed the document or any bearer. The California Secretary of State adds that the requester doesn't need to be related to anyone named in the document. A relative, a friend, or a company that does this work, such as ours, can file it for you.
We file documents in person at the Secretary of State's counter in Sacramento. You can bring your document to our office or mail it to us from any state. We ship the finished document to you or straight to the recipient abroad and send you the tracking number.
Filing vs. signing before a notary
If the document still needs to be notarized, no one can do that step for you. The person signing a power of attorney or a statement has to appear in person before the notary with a photo ID. California law requires a personal appearance, and a video call doesn't count.
You can sign at our Sacramento office or before any notary public near you in California and then mail us the original. If you live in another state, a local notary notarizes your signature, and the apostille then comes from that state. We handle that apostille for $160.
What the timeline is made of
- Any extra certification the document needs first, such as a county clerk's certification for some birth and death certificates.
- The California apostille: 1-3 business days once your document is with us, not counting the day you place the order.
- Shipping within the U.S.: from $20 by USPS Priority Mail, 2 business days.
- Shipping abroad: Ukraine 2-3 weeks, Russia and Belarus about 2 weeks, other countries 1-2 weeks. International shipments go out on Fridays.
Overnight mail doesn't speed up the Secretary of State
The Secretary of State processes mailed requests in the order received and can't pull them out of the queue for expedited service. Overnight delivery by FedEx, UPS, or DHL only shortens the document's trip to the office. In-person filing is the faster route: the Secretary of State's public counters in Sacramento and Los Angeles offer same-day service. We file at the Sacramento counter, so your document doesn't wait in the mail queue.
If you need the document by a certain date, tell us before we start. We'll add up the time for every step and let you know whether we can make it.
Apostille rules are published by the California Secretary of State: sos.ca.gov
