FAQs: Mobile Notary, Apostille & Translations

An apostille is a certificate issued by the California Secretary of State that authenticates a public document for use in another country that's party to the Hague Apostille Convention. It's essentially a government stamp saying "yes, this notary or this county registrar really is who they claim to be" — which foreign governments accept as valid without a separate embassy legalization step.

Same-day service is available at the California Secretary of State's Los Angeles walk-in counter (300 S Spring St) if we arrive by 4:30 PM — the counter usually processes documents in about 30 minutes. Mail-in processing through Sacramento is currently around 5 weeks as of July 2026, which is why we walk almost everything through in person. See our same-day Los Angeles apostille page for details.

Common documents: birth, marriage, and death certificates from the county or state; court documents; notarized powers of attorney; corporate documents (articles, bylaws, certificates of good standing); diplomas and transcripts; and FBI background checks. Federal documents (FBI, IRS, USCIS, federal court, federal agency records) get a federal apostille from the U.S. Department of State in Washington DC, not California.

Depends on the document. Vital records issued by the county or state (birth, marriage, death) go directly to apostille — no notarization needed. But documents like powers of attorney, affidavits, permission-to-travel forms, and business contracts need a notary acknowledgment or jurat FIRST, and then we apostille the notary's signature. We handle both steps in one visit for most jobs.

For non-Hague countries — currently including Canada, China (mainland), UAE, Vietnam, Thailand, Kuwait, Egypt, and a handful of others — the document needs full consular legalization instead of an apostille. That usually means: California authentication, then the U.S. Department of State, then the destination country's consulate or embassy. We coordinate the whole chain, and for federal-level authentication we work with a DC-based partner who hand-delivers to State Department. See our country directory for the current status of your destination.

The California Secretary of State charges $20 per document, plus a $6 special-handling fee for in-person walk-in service. Our all-inclusive service fee on top of that covers pickup or coordination, pre-submission quality check for common rejection issues, walk-in delivery to the LA counter, and return delivery. We quote the exact total up front based on how many documents and which service tier you need.

Two paths depending on the school: (1) If it's a California public school or accredited institution, the diploma or transcript can be certified by the school registrar with a notary acknowledgment — we then walk it through to the Secretary of State for the apostille. (2) Many universities and some private schools issue an official sealed transcript that goes to a Secretary of State notary certification step first. Either way, we verify the school's notary is in good standing on the CA SoS database before submitting, which prevents the most common rejection.

Depends on the destination country. Most Latin American countries (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, etc.) want the certified translation attached to the original before the apostille, so the apostille certifies both as one package. Most European and Asian countries want the apostille on the original, and the translation done in-country by a local sworn translator. Tell us your destination country and the receiving authority (school, consulate, court, employer) and we'll advise before we start.

As of July 2026, over 120 countries are party to the Hague Apostille Convention. Common destinations we handle constantly: Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, South Korea, Japan, Philippines, India, and the UK. See our apostille country directory for the current status of every country, updated monthly from the Hague Conference authoritative list.

Yes, but only if the copy is a certified copy issued by the original custodian — for example, a certified copy of a birth certificate from the LA County Registrar-Recorder, or a certified copy of court records from the court clerk. California will NOT apostille a photocopy that a notary has stamped as a "true copy" — the certified copy has to come from the issuing agency. If you need a certified vital record and don't have one yet, we can order it for you.

A federal apostille (technically an "authentication") is issued by the U.S. Department of State in Washington DC. You need one for any document issued by a federal agency: FBI background checks, IRS letters, USCIS naturalization certificates, federal court judgments, U.S. Coast Guard records, USDA APHIS pet health certificates, and similar. We coordinate with a DC-based partner who hand-delivers to the State Department, which is much faster than the mail-in queue. See our Washington DC federal apostille page.

Yes — one of our most common requests. The certified marriage certificate comes from the county where the marriage was recorded (LA County Registrar-Recorder for LA weddings). We can order the certified copy for you if you don't have one, coordinate the Spanish translation (often required before apostille for Mexico), and walk the whole package through the Secretary of State — usually same-day or next-day for local certificates.

Common rejection reasons: notary commission expired at time of signing, wrong or missing notary seal, missing loose acknowledgment page, photocopy submitted instead of a certified copy, document from a non-recognized issuer, or the county registrar's signature isn't on the state's current file. We pre-check every document for these issues before submission. If a document is still rejected despite our quality check, we redo the process at no additional service fee — you only pay the SoS fees again.

Yes. USDA APHIS-issued pet health certificates going to Hague Convention countries require a federal apostille from the U.S. Department of State. Because pet travel is time-sensitive, we prioritize these and coordinate directly with our DC partner for fast turnaround. Tell us your destination country and travel date when you call.

Yes. We coordinate certified document translations through a trusted professional translation partner. A certified translation includes a signed certification from the translator stating that the translation is accurate and complete — and for international use, that certification can be notarized and then apostilled with the translation as a single package.

Our translation partner handles most major languages including Spanish, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Russian, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew, Japanese, Hindi, and many others. Call or email us with your language pair and we'll confirm availability and quote turnaround.

Common documents: birth, marriage, and death certificates; diplomas and academic transcripts; immigration documents; powers of attorney; court records; divorce decrees; adoption paperwork; and business contracts. If it's a life-event or legal document going to a foreign authority, we've almost certainly translated one before.

Standard turnaround for documents up to 10 pages is 24 hours. Larger documents (over 10 pages) take up to 72 hours. Same-day expedited translation is available for a rush fee on shorter documents. We quote turnaround up front based on document length and language pair.

Price depends on language pair and document length. Send a scan or clear photo of the document by email or text, and we'll respond with a firm quote — usually within an hour during business hours. There's no per-page minimum for short one-page documents like birth or marriage certificates.

A certified translation includes a signed statement from the translator confirming that the translation is complete and accurate, and that the translator is competent in both languages. For use inside the U.S. (USCIS, courts, schools) that certification is usually enough. For international use, the certification is typically notarized and then apostilled together with the translation.

Yes — this is one of our most common requests, especially for documents going to Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, and Spain. We coordinate the translation, notarize the translator's certification, and complete the apostille as one combined package so the destination authority receives it in the right form.

We serve all of Los Angeles County (San Fernando Valley, West LA, South Bay, Downtown, Eastside, Antelope Valley) plus Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Kern counties. Same-day service is standard within LA County. Neighboring counties get a travel-time quote based on distance. See our locations directory for specific neighborhoods we cover.

Within LA County during business hours, we can usually be at your location within 60-90 minutes. Same-day and after-hours appointments are available with advance notice. For hospital bedside emergencies where the signer's condition is fragile, call first — we prioritize time-sensitive medical signings above the scheduling queue when we can.

Yes. Standard business hours are Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM. Evenings, weekends, and holidays incur a rush fee on top of the base notarization and travel fee. Same-day requests during business hours also carry a smaller rush add-on. We quote the total up front so there are no surprises at the appointment.

We accept all major credit cards, ACH, Zelle, Venmo, and cash. Payment is collected at the appointment unless it's a corporate or agency account with an active invoice arrangement. For jail and hospital jobs, we often take payment by card over the phone before we dispatch.

Call or text (213) 933‑2507, or book online at mobileamericannotary.com. Same-day and after-hours appointments are available. For hospital bedside emergencies, always call — don't rely on email or the booking form for time-critical medical signings.