California Apostille Request Form PDF: Fields, Fee, and Mailing

To authenticate a California document for use abroad, you submit the California apostille request form (the Secretary of State’s one-page Mail Apostille Cover Sheet) along with your original or certified document, a $20 check per apostille, and a self-addressed return envelope. The form itself is simple. The reason packages get sent back is almost always the document attached to it, not the form.¹

Download the Current Version of the Form

Get the PDF directly from the Secretary of State’s website each time. The cover sheet was last revised in April 2025, and the mailing address changed with that revision. An older saved copy will likely show a P.O. Box address that is no longer in use.²

The office also accepts a cover letter you write yourself, as long as it includes the destination country, your return address, and your name and contact information. Using the official PDF is the safer choice because the fields prompt you for everything required.³

What Each Field on the Form Asks For

Type or print clearly in every field. The form has three sections:

Your full name, mailing address, daytime telephone number, and email. The office uses this to contact you if there is a problem and to mail your authenticated documents back.
The foreign country where the document will be used. Write the specific country. This field cannot list the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or American Samoa — California does not issue apostilles for documents staying within the U.S. or its territories.³
The document type (birth certificate, power of attorney, corporate filing, diploma, etc.) and the number of apostilles you need. This also tells the office how to calculate your fee.²

What to Include in the Envelope

Four items go in every mail submission. If any one is missing, the whole package comes back unprocessed:¹

The document itself — an original or certified copy bearing the actual signature and seal of a qualifying California public official. Photocopies are never accepted.
Your completed cover sheet or equivalent cover letter.
A check or money order payable to “Secretary of State” for $20 per apostille. Write the check in blue or black ink and include your complete address on it.²
A self-addressed return envelope. Add prepaid postage if you want tracking; without it, the office returns your documents via regular USPS mail.

Qualifying documents fall into two groups. Notarized documents (powers of attorney, affidavits, diplomas, transcripts) must carry a California notary’s acknowledgment or jurat in English, and the notary’s commission must have been current when the act was performed. Certified public records (birth, death, and marriage certificates and court documents) must be certified copies issued by the official custodian, such as the California Department of Public Health, a county clerk, or a county recorder.³

The Fee

The apostille fee is $20 per document, set by California Government Code section 12195(e).⁴ For mail submissions, that is the entire fee. The additional $6 special handling charge per different public official’s signature applies only to in-person requests at the Sacramento or Los Angeles counters.³

Where to Mail the Package

All mail submissions go to the Sacramento office. The current address, as shown on the April 2025 revision of the cover sheet, is:

Notary Public
1500 11th Street, 2nd Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814²

If you are reusing a form you downloaded earlier, check the address against the current PDF before you seal the envelope. The older P.O. Box is no longer the correct destination.

In-Person Alternative

Two offices accept walk-in requests with same-day service. The Sacramento public counter is on the 3rd floor at 1500 11th Street. The Los Angeles counter is in Room 12513 of the Ronald Reagan State Building at 300 South Spring Street. No appointment is needed; you take a number on arrival. In-person requests are usually processed within 30 minutes, and you need to arrive by 4:30 p.m. to be served that day.¹⁵

How Long Mail Processing Takes

The Secretary of State does not quote a fixed turnaround for mailed requests. Instead, the office posts the date of the requests it is currently working through on its processing-times page.⁵ As of mid-2026, Sacramento was working on requests received March 6, 2026 — about a three-month backlog. That date does not include transit time in either direction, and the backlog changes, so check the page before you mail. If your deadline is tight, the walk-in counters are a different world: minutes rather than months.

Why Packages Get Sent Back

Most rejections are about the document, not the cover sheet. The common ones:

Photocopies instead of originals. A high-quality copy of a certified birth certificate still is not acceptable. You need the actual certified copy with the official’s original signature and seal.
An expired notary commission. If the notary’s commission had lapsed when they performed the notarization, the signature cannot be authenticated. The document has to be re-notarized by a currently commissioned notary.
Missing or incorrect notarial wording. The certificate must comply with California Civil Code requirements. An acknowledgment, for example, has to include the specific verification notice at the top.
Certification from the wrong office. A birth or death certificate has to be certified by an authorized custodian such as a county clerk, county recorder, or the State Registrar.³
Missing payment or return envelope. The office will not process your documents and bill later. A wrong-amount check or missing envelope sends everything back.

A separate category of rejection is sending the wrong document to this office at all. The Secretary of State authenticates only California public officials’ signatures. Federal documents (FBI background checks, certificates of naturalization) go to the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications. Documents notarized or certified in another state have to be processed by that state’s secretary of state.³

If the Country Is Not a Hague Convention Member

California issues the same apostille regardless of destination. There is no separate certificate for non-Hague countries.³ Whether the receiving country accepts that apostille on its own is up to that country. For non-Hague destinations, the usual path is notarization, then the state apostille, then authentication by the U.S. Department of State, and finally legalization at the destination country’s embassy or consulate. Contact that embassy or consulate before you start so you know exactly what they want.

1
California Secretary of State. Request an Apostille
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California Secretary of State. Mail Apostille Cover Sheet
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California Secretary of State. Apostille Frequently Asked Questions
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California Secretary of State. Forms, Services, and Fees
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California Secretary of State. Current Processing Dates