A guide to acceptable Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Death Certificates and Divorce Decrees from California, for obtaining an Apostille This informational reference is prepared and offered to the public by the office of: California Apostille Services and Licensing, LLC 580 California Street 16th Floor San Francisco CA 94104 www.californiaapostilles.com
WARNING: This document, all text and scanned images are copyrighted 2007 and the sole property of the office of California Apostille Services. Permission is granted solely to the individual reader for personal reference only, and profiles the services available from our office only.
PLEASE NOTE: The following information is provided as a means for clients to examine and review their documents to determine if an Apostille can be obtained on them. We have provided sample scanned images as a reference. You will need to have your document in hand to compare to the examples contained on the next few pages. We are providing you with examples of what documents are acceptable to submit to our office. There may be certain situations where your document may not be shown on the following pages, or the document you have in hand may be slightly different from the example. If there are any doubts, please contact our office for further guidance.
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BIRTH CERTIFICATES, MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES, DEATH CERTIFICATES
The important factor to remember is that your document must be issued by either: 1. 2. 3. 4. The Department of Health Services (“DHS”) A County Clerk County Recorder County Assessor
Let’s look at some examples of what your document can look like, and what documents are not accepted.
This is a Birth Certificate issued by the DHS (Department of Health Services), and it is acceptable to submit to our office for an Apostille. The certificate has the round seal on the lower right corner of the document, with the letters “DHS”. On the lower left, the name “Michael Rodrian” appears. You will notice a barcode next to the DHS seal. Your document may or may not have this barcode, and either style is acceptable.
This is an example of a Los Angeles County Marriage Certificate. It will appear in virtually the same style for Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates and Death Certificates. The top of the document has the words “County of Los Angeles – Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk”. This is acceptable. On the bottom right of the document is the seal of the County of Los Angeles. On the lower left, you see the signature of Connie McCormick, County Clerk/Recorder. Any document from any county within California which has the seal and signature from the County Clerk, the County Recorder, the Registrar Recorder, Controller-Recorder, and/or the Clerk Assessor is acceptable.
This is an example of the bottom of a certificate from San Bernardino County. Yours may or may not have a barcode. This is acceptable:
This is an example of the bottom of a certificate from San Diego County. Yours may or may not have a barcode. This is acceptable:
This is an example of the bottom of a San Luis Obispo County certificate, which is also acceptable:
Once again, the common factor in all these certificates is that they are signed and issued by the County Clerk, the Clerk –Recorder, the Assessor-Recorder, the Controller-Recorder of a certain County in California, or the DHS Department of Health Services.
DOCUMENTS WHICH ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE
Unfortunately, there exist documents which are not acceptable for submission to our office for an Apostille, which in fact look very similar to our examples above, but with important differences. Many clients have been under stress and pressure of deadlines, or do not pay adequate attention to the important document differences, and submit an unacceptable document, which in turn is then rejected, causing lengthy delays in processing, frustration, and additional costs. Be careful when examining your document in hand. The size and color of all documents issued within the past 10 years are basically the same, even those which in fact are not acceptable.
You will note in this example that the document is signed by an MD, a County Health Officer, and Registrar of Vital Statistics. It is issued by the Department of Public Health, and it is therefore NOT ACCEPTABLE. This document WILL BE REJECTED. This document is not issued by the County Clerk-Recorder’s office and therefore cannot have an Apostille obtained.
This Orange County Death Certificate is NOT ACCEPTABLE for the following reasons, and will be rejected: 1. 2. 3. 4. It is issued by the Health Care Agency It is signed by an MD It is issued by the Vital Records Section It bears the seal of the County Health Officer
Remember, only documents from County Clerk, the Clerk–Recorder, the AssessorRecorder, the Controller-Recorder of a certain County in California, or the DHS Department of Health Services are acceptable.
SAN FRANCISCO DOCUMENTS – SPECIAL EXCEPTION
The exception to the above rules are Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates issued by the City/County of San Francisco. All current and recent past certificates from San Francisco signed by Mitchell Katz MD ARE ACCEPTED IF YOU ORDER THE SERVICES FROM OUR OFFICE.
DIVORCE DECREES FROM CALIFORNIA
The Superior Court of a specific county in California is the court which issues final Divorce Decrees. Be sure your document has a FILED stamp on the front top right, and a seal on the back.
NOTES REGARDING SERVICES FOR AN APOSTILLE
It is extremely important for all new clients to review their own documents prior to sending them to our office. Our staff can be of assistance by telephone to help determine the acceptability of any particular document, however, if your information as presented to our staff is not complete or is incorrect, then our assistance may not result in an accurate evaluation. It is always best to fax a copy of the certificate you need an Apostille on, so we can visually inspect it before you send us the original. Fax the document and a cover sheet to +1 (415) 738-5372 . You should always consider either emailing us at info@californiaapostilles.com or calling our office at: 1.415.670.9019 or 1.310.776.7580, for a preliminary consultation, if you feel the document in your possession does not match the examples we have included here or on our website at www.californiaapostilles.com As per our Service Agreement, as well as the written and posted Terms of Service, California Apostille Services cannot be responsible for any delays in Apostille completion or rejections of documents. The State of California government has a very specific list of which County-level agency’s certificates may have an Apostille issued on, and this guide profiles the result of the State’s list. The Office of California Apostille Services is located at 580 California Street, 16th Floor, in San Francisco CA. We are happy to provide services to persons in need of Apostilles on virtually any document with origin from California, regardless of where they happen to physically be. You are advised to arrange delivery of your documents to our office by courier service such as Fedex, DHL, UPS, etc., which can be tracked, to ensure safe and reliable delivery. Using regular US Mail is risky, since your letter cannot be traced in the event of loss or delays. You may instead wish to drop your documents and application off in person, however, please bear in mind that obtaining an Apostille in not a while-you-wait service. You will need to return at a later date to pick up the completed certification, or arrange for delivery back to you or onwards to an overseas destination. Please visit us on the web at www.californiaapostilles.com for the latest information about our services.
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QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE
Note: All documents provided to our office must be original documents. Do not submit photocopies or fax copies. Type of Document: Divorce Decree Issued By: Superior Court Look for: Blue seal on back Accepted? YES
Birth Certificate Birth Certificate Birth Certificate Birth Certificate Birth Certificate Birth Certificate Birth Certificate
County Clerk Clerk/Recorder Assessor/Recorder Health Officer Hospital Vital Statistics Local Registrar
Seal/Signature Seal/Signature Seal/Signature Signed by MD
YES YES YES NO NO NO NO
Marriage Certificate Marriage Certificate Marriage Certificate Marriage Certificate Marriage Certificate
County Clerk Clerk/Recorder Assessor/Recorder Church Chapel, Souvenier
Seal/Signature Seal/Signature Seal/Signature
YES YES YES NO NO
Death Certificate Death Certificate Death Certificate Death Certificate Death Certificate Death Certificate
County Clerk Vital Statistics Local Registrar Local MD Health Officer Funeral Home
Seal/Signature
YES NO NO NO NO NO
*SAN FRANCISCO EXCEPTION – Documents from San Francisco CAN be signed by Mitchell Katz MD and are acceptable if you order the services from our office.