California Apostille Request Form PDF: Envelope, Mailing, and Timing

The California apostille request form is a one-page cover sheet you download from the Secretary of State, fill out with your contact information and destination country, and mail to Sacramento along with your original document, a $20 check per apostille, and a self-addressed return envelope. The form is free, and the office will also accept your own cover letter as long as it contains the same required information.¹

Download the current PDF straight from the Secretary of State’s site rather than reusing a saved copy. The form was last revised in April 2025, and the mailing address changed with that revision. An older form will send your package to the wrong place.²

Filling Out the Form

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

Your name and contact information. Full name, mailing address, daytime phone, and email. The office uses these to reach you if something is wrong with the submission, and to mail the authenticated documents back.

Foreign country receiving the document. Write the specific country where you will use the document. This field cannot list the United States or a U.S. territory. California does not issue apostilles for documents used domestically, including in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or American Samoa.³

Document type and quantity. Say what you are submitting (birth certificate, power of attorney, corporate filing, and so on) and how many apostilles you need. That count also determines your fee: $20 per apostille, set by California Government Code section 12195(e).⁴

If you write your own cover letter instead of using the PDF, include the destination country, your return address, and your name and contact information. Those are the only elements the office requires, though using the official form makes it harder to leave something out.³

What Goes in the Envelope

Four items must be in every mail submission. Miss one and the whole package comes back unprocessed.¹

The document itself, as an original or certified copy signed by a California public official. No photocopies.
Your completed cover sheet or equivalent cover letter.
A check or money order for $20 per apostille, payable to “Secretary of State,” written in blue or black ink and showing your complete address.²
A self-addressed envelope. If you want tracking, include prepaid postage. Without it, the office returns your documents via regular USPS mail.²

Where to Mail It

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

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

Older versions of the form listed a P.O. Box. If you are reusing a downloaded copy, check the address on it against the current PDF before sealing the envelope.

Which Documents the Form Covers

The Secretary of State authenticates the signature and seal of a California public official. The office does not verify what your document says. Your document must therefore carry the original signature of a qualifying California official.¹

Eligible documents fall into two groups. The first is notarized documents: powers of attorney, affidavits, diplomas, transcripts, and similar records where a California notary public performed an acknowledgment or jurat. The notarial certificate must be in English, and the notary’s commission must have been current at the time. The second is certified public records: birth, death, and marriage certificates, and court-issued documents. These need to be certified copies from the official custodian, such as the California Department of Public Health, a county clerk, or a county recorder.³

Some documents fall outside California’s authority no matter how the form is filled out. FBI background checks, certificates of naturalization, and other federal documents go through the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications. Documents notarized or certified in another state have to be authenticated by that state’s secretary of state.

Why Packages Get Sent Back

Most rejections come from the document, not the cover sheet. The recurring problems:

Photocopies instead of originals. Even a clean photocopy of a certified birth certificate is not acceptable. You need the actual certified copy with the official’s original signature and seal.
An expired notary commission. If the commission had lapsed on the date of the notarization, the office cannot authenticate the signature, and the document has to be re-notarized by a currently commissioned notary.
Missing or noncompliant notarial wording. The certificate must use language that meets California Civil Code requirements. An acknowledgment certificate, for example, must carry a specific verification notice at the top.
The wrong official for the document type. 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 you afterward. A wrong check amount or a missing self-addressed envelope brings the whole package back.

For county-certified records like birth certificates, a recently dated certified copy tends to move through more smoothly. Some county offices suggest a certification within the last five years as a practical guideline.

How Long Mail Requests Take

The office does not promise a fixed turnaround. It works submissions in the order received and posts on its processing-times page the date of the requests it is currently handling.⁵ In mid-2026 the Sacramento office was working through requests received on March 6, 2026, a backlog of roughly three months. That figure moves, so check the page before you send. It also does not include the time your package spends in the mail each way.

If you need the apostille quickly, walking documents into either the Sacramento or Los Angeles public counter is much faster than mail. Counter submissions are typically processed within 30 minutes, and the office asks that you arrive by 4:30 p.m. to be seen that day.¹⁵

1
California Secretary of State. Request an Apostille
2
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