I am not an attorney and am not licensed to practice law in any state. No intention is offered in this website to provide any legal advice or counsel. You are recommended to seek the advice of an attorney for your particular situation.
As a Notary Public for the State of California, the duties I perform are:
You, the signer, must be able to tell me, the Notary Public, which duty or form you require. Each duty has legal implications and the incorrect form may have severe legal repercussions. As a Notary Public, AND NOT LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW IN ANY STATE, I am prohibited from advising you which form is appropriate for your specific circumstance. If you are not certain of the duty or form that you require, please contact an attorney.
All information provided in this website is provided at the sole discretion of the the user. No fitness for any purpose is provided or warranted. Jeff Bowman shall not be held liable under any circumstance resulting either directly or indirectly from the use of any information contained in this website, including any links to or from this website. Use of this website constitutes acceptance of this waiver.
An apostille or Certification is for documents to be used outside the United States of America and is a verification that the Notary’s signature and seal are genuine and that the Notary had authority to act at the time of notarization. The country of destination determines whether the authentication is an Apostille or Certification. An apostille is not issued by a Notary, nor is it the Notary’s responsibility to obtain it. The apostille or certification for California is obtained through the California Secretary of State either by mail, at the Secretary of State's office in Sacramento, or at one of the three regional offices (San Francisco, Los Angeles, or San Diego). Some countries may require a Certification of the signature of the state's public official which is issued by the Office of Authentications of the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C.
The steps involved on obtaining an Apostille or Certification for California are:
An Apostille or Certification is issued to authenticate the Notary (or public official's) authority to act at the time of the Act, therefore the document must first be notarized.
After the document has been notarized, the Notary Public's signature and seal must be authenticated. This must be done at the county clerk's office where the notary took the oath of office. The county may be indicated on the notary seal, or you can contact the California Secretary of State and provide the Notary's commission number (which should be on the seal) to obtain the county where the notary was sworn. Authentication for Notary Public whose principal place of business is Los Angeles county must be obtained at the Norwalk Office of the County Clerk. The Authentication can be obtained either in person or by mail (allow 2-3 weeks by mail).
After you obtain the Authentication of the Notary Public, the notarized document and authentication must be submitted to the California Secretary of State, either in Sacramento (in person or by mail) or at one of the regional offices (in person only). You must identify the country of destination. Allow 2-3 weeks for return by mail.
Some countries may require the certification of the state official's signature. This type of certification must be obtained through the Office of Authentications of the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C. This can be done in person at the Washington D.C. office or by mail (allow 2-3 weeks for return by mail).
An Apostille or Certification is not issued by a Notary, nor is it the Notary’s responsibility to obtain it. You may request the Notary Authentication, apostille or certification in person (yourself or by a third party) or by mail.
Although I primarily service the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles county, and surrounding areas, as a Notary Public for the State of California, I can perform the duties of my office anywhere within the State of California.
I am also willing to service the jails.
Any of the following identification documents are acceptable as long as the document is current or has been issued within five (5) years and contains a photograph and a description of the person named on it, is signed by the person, and MUST bear a serial or other identifying number.
IF you do not have any valid identification (as listed above), your identification must be confirmed by 2 witnesses, each willing to take oaths to following:
You, the signer, do not possess any of the identification documents authorized by law to establish your (the signer’s) identity;
They, the witnesses, do not have a financial interest and are not named in the document signed.
That the circumstances of the signer are such that it would be very difficult or impossible for the signer to obtain another form of identification;
Effective Jan 1, 2007, the correct language and form of an ACKNOWLEDGMENT is:
State of California
County of ___________________________
On __________ before me, ____________________________________________________________, personally appeared _______________________________________________________________ ,
who proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the person(s) acted, executed the instrument.
I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing paragraph is true and correct.
WITNESS my hand and official seal.
_____________________________________
Notary Public Signature Notary Public Seal
per California CCP §1189(a). (Official language, as of Feb 1, 2009)
If you require an ACKNOWLEDGEMENT and either do not have one or the one you
have does not
contain the CORRECT language, I am able to provide you a
replacement at no additional charge.
The correct language and form of a JURAT is:
State of California
County of ___________________________
Subscribed and sworn to (or affirmed) before me on this _____ day of _______, 20__, by ________________________________, proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) who appeared before me.
_________________________________
Notary Public Signature Notary Public Seal
per California Government Code §8202(b). (Official Language, as of Feb 1, 2009)
If you require a JURAT and either do not have one or the one you have does
not contain the
CORRECT language, I am able to provide you a replacement at no
additional charge.