What is a Notary Public?

A Notary is a person of proven integrity appointed by the state to serve the public as an impartial witness. A notary is considered a public official and must follow specific rules and regulations set up by the state.

What form of Identification do I need?

Each signer must present at least one of the forms of ID listed below. The ID must be current or, if expired, have been issued within the last 5 years; contain the signer's photograph, personal description, and signature; and bear a serial or other identifying number.

• Driver's License or nondriver's ID card issued by a U.S. state.
• U.S. passport
• US Military Identification Card that contarin all required elements stated above, (The Common Access Card CAC is not acceptable).
• Driver's license issued in Mexico or Canada.
• Foreign passport stamped by the U.S. Citzenship and
   Immigration Services (USCIS).
• Inmate ID Issued by the California Dept. of Corrections.

What are the common types of notarization?

• Acknowledgment - Positive identification of signer by notary
• Jurat - Notary compels signer to tell the truth
• Oaths/Affirmations - Administered to signer by notary

What are Authentications/Certifications and Apostilles?

Internationally-bound documents frequently need a form of validation known as an Apostille.  Apostilles are necessary for documents bound for Hague Convention nations. In 1961, the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Documents resulted in many nations adopting a simplified method of legalizing documents for universal recognition.  These nations are referred to as member nations of the Hague Legalization Convention.

An Apostille is a seal which, when affixed to a document, certifies it has undergone specifc procedures established by the Hague Legalization Convention to prove the document's legality and authenticity for use in a foreign country.

An Apostille is internationally recognized by all member nations.  Documents sent between Hague Convention countries may be submitted to the member nation without further action.

An Apostille is a certification issued by the California State Government, affixed to the top of your original document to verify the signature of the county official that authenticated the document, such as a vital record.  For notarized documents, the county clerk applies an Authentication, afterwhich the state government applies the Apostille to the county clerk's Authentication.

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