Apostille & Authentication Help.
Need a document prepared for use outside the United States? Orange County Mobile Notary Public helps with California apostilles, federal apostilles, U.S. Department of State authentication, embassy legalization, vital records, county certifications, notarized documents, translations, and more.
A faster path for documents going outside the U.S.
Apostille and authentication certificate requests can be confusing because requirements depend on the document type, the public official’s signature, the destination country, and whether the document first needs notarization, certification, translation, federal authentication, embassy legalization, county certification, or a new certified vital record.
We help you understand the next step and handle the document processing so you are not guessing where to send your paperwork.
- Birth, death, and marriage certificates
- Federal documents and FBI background checks
- Powers of attorney
- School records and diplomas
- Business and corporate documents
- Certified translations
Apostille & authentication pricing.
Choose the service that matches your document type, destination country, and deadline. California apostille pricing below includes the California state processing fee for one document.
Estimated 5–10 business days
Includes CA state fee
Estimated 3 business days
Includes CA state fee
Next business day by end of day
Includes CA state fee
By end of day when available
Includes CA state fee
Additional document services.
Some documents require federal authentication, embassy legalization, county certification, certified copies, or vital record retrieval before the final apostille or legalization can be completed.
U.S. Department of State apostille or authentication service
For federal documents
Depends on destination country, embassy fees, document type, and shipping requirements
County certification may be needed before apostille processing
We can help obtain county-issued certified copies when available
Documents we commonly help with.
Different documents need different preparation before they can be apostilled, authenticated, or legalized.
Vital Records
Certified California vital records often need to come from the proper county or state agency before apostille processing.
- Birth certificates
- Marriage certificates
- Death certificates
- County certifications
- Vital record retrieval
Notarized Documents
Many personal and legal documents must be properly notarized before apostille processing.
- Powers of attorney
- Affidavits and declarations
- Single status statements
- Permission letters
- Copy certification by document custodian
Federal, School & Business
Some records may require federal authentication, notarization, school certification, or agency-issued certification first.
- FBI background checks
- Federal documents
- Diplomas and transcripts
- Certificates of status
- Corporate documents
How the apostille process works.
A simple process designed to prevent rejected documents and avoid unnecessary delays.
For documents used internationally.
An apostille is used to authenticate the public official’s signature on a document for use outside the United States. For California documents, this usually means the California Secretary of State is authenticating a California notary, county official, state official, or other qualifying public official signature.
Some documents need extra steps.
Some documents, federal records, or non-Hague destination countries may involve additional authentication or legalization steps. Federal documents such as FBI background checks are generally handled through the U.S. Department of State, not the California Secretary of State.
Federal, embassy, county & vital record help.
Not every document goes straight to the California Secretary of State. Some documents need federal authentication, embassy legalization, county certification, or a certified vital record first.
Federal Apostilles
Federal documents such as FBI background checks are generally handled through the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications.
- Federal apostille service
- Federal authentication certificates
- U.S. Department of State processing
- $175 per document
Embassy Legalization
Some destination countries require embassy or consulate legalization instead of, or in addition to, an apostille or authentication certificate.
- Non-Hague country document help
- Embassy and consulate requirements
- Country-specific processing
- Pricing varies
County Certifications
Some vital records may need a county certification or proper public official signature before apostille processing.
- Birth certificates
- Marriage certificates
- Death certificates
- Pricing varies
Vital Record Retrieval
Need a new certified copy? We can help obtain eligible vital records from the county when available.
- County birth records
- County marriage records
- County death records
- Pricing varies
Need the document translated too?
Many international document requests also require a certified translation. We can help coordinate certified translations for birth certificates, marriage certificates, legal documents, school records, and other documents.
Translation requirements depend on the receiving country, consulate, school, government agency, or requesting party.
- Certified translations
- Immigration documents
- Legal and personal records
- Academic documents
- Apostille-related translations
Before we start.
These details help us quote the job correctly and avoid a rejected apostille, authentication, or legalization request.
Destination country
Tell us where the document will be used. Country requirements can affect whether apostille, authentication, or embassy legalization is needed.
Document type
Tell us whether it is a vital record, notarized document, school record, business document, court document, or federal document.
Your deadline
Choose the speed that matches your deadline. Same-day, next-day, federal, embassy, and county options depend on availability and document readiness.
Apostille service areas.
We help clients throughout Orange County and surrounding Southern California areas with apostille, authentication certificate, federal apostille, embassy legalization, county certification, and vital record requests.
Servicios de apostilla para documentos internacionales.
Podemos ayudarle con apostillas de California, apostillas federales, autenticaciones del U.S. Department of State, legalización de embajadas, certificaciones del condado, actas del condado, documentos notarizados y traducciones certificadas.
No somos abogados y no damos asesoría legal. Los requisitos dependen del país, consulado, embajada, agencia o persona que recibirá el documento.
- País donde se usará el documento
- Tipo de documento
- Fecha límite
- Si necesita traducción
- Si el documento ya está notarizado
Apostille questions.
How much does apostille service cost?
What is an apostille?
Do you handle federal apostilles?
Do you handle embassy legalization?
Can you obtain county certifications for vital records?
Can you obtain certified vital records from the county?
Does my document need to be notarized first?
Do I need a translation too?
Related services.
Need help preparing the document before the apostille?
Mobile Notary
For powers of attorney, affidavits, declarations, permission letters, and other documents that need notarization first.
Certified Translations
For immigration, legal, academic, and international document use when a certified translation is required.
Loan Signing Services
For refinance, buyer, seller, HELOC, and escrow-related signing appointments.
Start your apostille request.
Call or text with the destination country, document type, deadline, and whether you need translation, notarization, county certification, vital record retrieval, federal authentication, or embassy legalization. We will confirm the best next step and pricing before processing.
Orange County Mobile Notary Public is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Apostille, authentication, embassy legalization, county certification, vital record, notary, and translation services are by appointment and availability.