Why do I need an apostille on my California birth certificate?
Generally, an apostille on a birth certificate is required when a person is moving to another country for work, study, or marriage. Also, if you apply for dual citizenship, you will be asked to provide an apostilled birth certificate among other documents. An apostille confirms the authenticity of your birth certificate, including the stamps and signatures on it, and makes it legally accepted by all member countries of the Hague Apostille Convention of 1961.
How can I get my California birth certificate apostilled?
Your first step is to obtain a certified copy of your California birth certificate. In California, birth certificates are issued by a Registrar of Vital Records of the City or County Clerk’s office. If your birth certificate has the signature of a Health Officer or County Registrar (such as Local Registrar, Registrar of Vital Records), before submitting your California birth certificate to our office for apostille service, make sure you complete one of the following required steps:
- have a birth certificate certified by the county clerk’s office in the county in which it was issued;
- or obtain a certified copy of that birth or death certificate from the county recorder or State of California Department of Public Health
An authorized, certified California birth certificate is typically used for travel, passport application, proof of citizenship, social security, driver's license, school registration, personal identification, and other legal purposes.
Once you receive your California birth certificate make sure it bears the signatures of:
• county clerks and their deputies,
• county recorders and their deputies, and
• the State Registrar at the California Department of Public Health
The signature, name, and title of the public official can be found at the bottom of a birth certificate. Remember that if your birth certificate was issued in the State of California, the apostille on it can only be issued by the California Secretary of State.
Obtaining a birth certificate apostille is a complicated process and should always be handled by professionals only. Remember that trusting your important documents to incompetent people unfamiliar with the specifics of each country, may lead you to extra expenses, and delays of your important business by weeks, or even months. Complicated matters must be handled by experts, and that’s why we recommend that you should allow Global Apostille to take care of obtaining your Birth Certificate apostille.
For any questions, please visit our FAQ page or Contact Us page.