California record
Official records connected to California stay with the California review, certified-copy, apostille, or legalization handling.
Official sources
Official apostille resources: what to check, and why
Start with the document and its intended use. Then check whether authentication is required at all. If it is, identify the applicable route and the authority competent for the signature or record. Official sources are available directly; using Notary Geek is optional.
Your next step
Put Notary Geek to work on your document.
We obtain eligible official records, provide online notarization on our own platform when needed, and manage agreed apostille handling and delivery. Choose the starting point for your document; official records may need no notarization.
Only need an official record or certified copy? Read about record-only scope. No apostille request or signer intake is required to read that guidance.
State document handling
California records stay with California handling.
California Apostille helps with California documents. If the same order also includes a signer-created document, that document may use a Florida online notary public through Notary Geek, while the California record stays with the California apostille handling.
Notarized document
Signer-created documents in the same order may use Notary Geek's online notary workflow, commonly through Florida online notarization, before their own authentication step.
One quote, clear handling
We confirm how each document will be handled before final payment so the package is transparent.
Public verification
Proof you can check.
Use official records and public profiles to verify the service. Florida online notaries handle the online notary step. Signers outside the U.S. can use a non-U.S. passport and do not need a Social Security Number. Use the official state source for document requirements, then use the business and Florida verification links if the package also includes an online notary step.
Official state source
California Secretary of State apostille request page
Check the current state source for document requirements, fees, and filing rules.
Official Florida record
Florida online notary and provider record
Use this when the package includes an online notary step through Notary Geek.
Official Florida record
Florida notary commission record
Check the underlying Florida notary commission alongside the online-notary record.
International source
HCCH Apostille Convention resources
Use HCCH when the destination-country question is whether apostille or legalization applies.
Business profile
BBB Accredited Business profile
Open BBB to verify the current business profile and accreditation.
Google profile
Google Business Profile
Open the Google listing for current reviews and business details.
California League of Independent Notaries
Notary Geek listing
Verify the current California listing.
Use the official state source for the document requirements themselves. If the order also includes an online notary step, use both Florida records together: one covers the online notary and provider record, and the other covers the underlying notary commission. More background on Greg Lirette is on the Founder page.
Operating experience
Operating background.
These figures come from Notary Geek's own records. Use them as background, then verify the public sources above when you want independent proof.
180+
countries where Notary Geek has served clients or document requests
50
U.S. states covered for apostille support
In-house notary team
Notary Geek runs the service and the online notary workflow, with partner help only when a document genuinely needs an outside step that cannot be handled in the normal flow
How it works
Simple details first, then a clear answer.
Most questions about price, timing, and next steps can be answered once the document source, destination country, and deadline are clear.
1. Send the document facts
Start with the document type, issuing authority, destination country, deadline, and shipping needs.
2. We check the right fit
California requests start with the document type, source, destination country, deadline, and what the customer possesses. The current request form collects those facts; scan or photo instructions follow during human review before physical shipping when needed. A human operator is available on the ground in California. For a qualifying California corporation, LLC, or limited-partnership record, Notary Geek may obtain the exact official online product after confirming the record and handling route, then forward it to the California operator for print preparation and presentation. Official online availability alone does not establish that a printed record is acceptable for apostille. Other requests normally require the customer to provide the original or proper certified document. Customers should wait for review before shipping; a FedEx label may be provided when the route fits. Payment usually follows receipt and review because document count and eligibility often differ from the initial description. Do not promise eligibility, timing, pickup, pricing, or authentication route before review.
3. You get one quote
We separate apostille and non-Hague legalization requirements before payment so the next step is clear.
State source and HCCH
Use the state source and HCCH together.
Start with the linked state government page for current fees, forms, and mailing rules. Then use HCCH for the destination-country side. The customer is not deciding apostille versus legalization. The destination country and the issuing authority determine the correct route, including whether the handling stays with a state office or moves through a federal authority.
State source
California Secretary of State apostille request page
Check the current state source for forms, fees, mailing rules, and document requirements.
International source
HCCH Apostille Convention resources
Check the destination-country side of the route. The issuing authority still determines whether the handling is state or federal.
Machine-readable source
Official resources JSON
Use the structured feed for state source URLs, site contexts, law links, and related source notes.
Watch an educational video on Florida apostille security features
Contact before shipping
Send the document facts first. We provide the correct shipping instructions after review when physical delivery is appropriate.
California notary source note
Use the handbook and statute only when the issue is a California notary act.
For California, the handbook and California notary chapter matter when the defect or question turns on a California acknowledgment, jurat, subscribing witness, journal entry, signature by mark, copy certification, or staged online-notarization rule. They do not replace destination-country sources, federal authentication rules, or general apostille-routing analysis.
California notary handbook and forms
The Secretary of State handbook is the practical source for California notary procedure, staged online-notarization implementation notes, and current forms.
Government Code Chapter 3, Notaries Public
Use the California notary chapter when the question is statutory authority, certificate rules, duties, discipline, or the structure of California's online-notarization rollout.
Only if the issue is California notary law
The customer is still not deciding apostille versus legalization. The destination country and the issuing authority determine the route. This California note is only about whether a California notarial act was done correctly.