Apostille Certification Services Los Angeles California

Welcome to Anshin Mobile Notary and Live Scan, a Los Angeles-based provider of California, nationwide and federal apostille services and international document coordination. With offices in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, we help clients determine the correct authentication pathway, review documents for common preparation issues and coordinate the entire authentication process from document review through final delivery.

Whether your document was issued in California, another U.S. state or by a federal agency, the correct apostille process depends on the public official or government authority connected to the document. A California document may require authentication by the California Secretary of State, a document issued in another state generally follows that state’s apostille process, and eligible federal documents follow the federal authentication pathway.

An apostille authenticates the signature and authority of an eligible public official so that a document can be presented in another country participating in the Hague Apostille Convention. Depending on the document, that official may be a notary public, county clerk, registrar, court official or another authorized government representative.

Notarization and apostille certification are related in some cases, but they are not the same process. Notarization generally verifies the identity of a signer and the execution of a document. An apostille authenticates the public official associated with the document for international use. Some documents must be notarized before receiving an apostille, while certified vital records, court documents and other government-issued records often follow a different pathway.

California, Nationwide and Federal Apostille Services

Many people assume that because they live in Los Angeles, every document should receive a California apostille. In reality, the proper authority usually depends on where the document was issued, certified or notarized.

• A California birth or marriage certificate generally follows the California apostille process.
• A Texas birth certificate generally requires authentication through Texas.
• A New York diploma or transcript may require preparation and authentication through New York.
• A Delaware corporate document generally follows the Delaware apostille process.
• An FBI Identity History Summary ordinarily follows the federal authentication process through the U.S. Department of State.

Anshin Mobile Notary and Live Scan coordinates apostille processing for eligible documents from all 50 states, as well as eligible federal documents. We help determine the correct authentication pathway, review documents for common preparation issues, coordinate the required processing and arrange for completed documents to be returned or shipped securely.

Mobile Apostille Coordination in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills

Our Los Angeles and Beverly Hills offices serve clients who prefer an in-office appointment. We also provide mobile assistance throughout the Los Angeles area for clients who need document pickup, notarization when appropriate or help beginning a more complicated international document project.

Depending on the assignment, Anshin Mobile Notary and Live Scan can:

• Review the documents and intended country of use
• Meet the client at a home, office, law firm, hospital or other appropriate location
• Pick up original or certified documents
• Provide notarization when legally appropriate
• Determine whether state or federal authentication applies
• Coordinate apostilles from California or another U.S. state
• Coordinate eligible federal apostilles
• Arrange certified or sworn translation when required
• Return or ship completed documents domestically or internationally

Mobile apostille service does not mean that a Secretary of State or the U.S. Department of State issues the apostille at the client’s location. It means that Anshin Mobile Notary and Live Scan can meet with the client, collect and prepare the project, route the documents through the correct government process and coordinate their return.

One International Document Project May Involve Several Jurisdictions

A single international matter may involve a California marriage certificate, a birth certificate issued in another state, a university diploma from a third state and a federal FBI background check. Those documents do not all follow the same apostille process.

The state-issued records ordinarily require authentication through their respective states, while the federal document follows the federal pathway. The project may also require notarization, certified copies, translation and domestic or international shipping.

Many clients initially contact us believing they simply need a California apostille. During our document review, we sometimes discover that one document belongs in Texas, another in New York, while an FBI background check follows the federal authentication pathway. At that point, the challenge is no longer obtaining an apostille—it is coordinating multiple authentication pathways into one successful international document project.

This is why we approach apostille work as a complete international document project rather than sending every document to the same government office.

Document Review Before Apostille Processing

Many apostille delays occur before a document ever reaches the appropriate government agency. A document may be an informational copy rather than a certified copy, contain an incomplete notarization, lack an eligible signature or belong in a different state or federal process.

Before beginning, we help determine:

• What the client is trying to accomplish internationally
• Which country will receive the document
• Whether that country accepts apostilles or requires embassy legalization
• Whether the document is eligible in its current form
• Whether notarization is required or inappropriate
• Which state or federal authority must authenticate the document
• Whether translation or additional international processing will be needed

For projects involving authentication, translation, legalization and international delivery, learn more about the international document translation and apostille services provided by Anshin Mobile Notary and Live Scan.