Introduction
If you're preparing documents for international use—whether it's for dual citizenship, marriage abroad, immigration, or legal matters—you'll likely need an apostille. But before you can get an apostille, you must first obtain a certified copy of the original document, such as a birth, marriage, or death certificate.
This guide is designed to help you find the correct county office in California where you can request certified vital records. Whether you're doing it yourself or planning to use a professional service, this is the first and most important step in the apostille process.
California County Vital Records Access
| County | Official Page |
|---|---|
| Alameda | |
| Alpine | |
| Amador | |
| Butte | |
| Calaveras | |
| Colusa | |
| Contra Costa | |
| Del Norte | |
| El Dorado | |
| Fresno | |
| Glenn | |
| Humboldt | |
| Imperial | |
| Inyo | |
| Kern | |
| Kings | |
| Lake | |
| Lassen | |
| Los Angeles | |
| Madera | |
| Marin | |
| Mariposa | |
| Mendocino | |
| Merced | |
| Modoc | |
| Mono | |
| Monterey | |
| Napa | |
| Nevada | |
| Orange | |
| Placer | |
| Plumas | |
| Riverside | |
| Sacramento | |
| San Benito | |
| San Bernardino | |
| San Diego | |
| San Francisco | |
| San Joaquin | |
| San Luis Obispo | |
| San Mateo | |
| Santa Barbara | |
| Santa Clara | |
| Santa Cruz | |
| Shasta | |
| Sierra | |
| Siskiyou | |
| Solano | |
| Sonoma | |
| Stanislaus | |
| Sutter | |
| Tehama | |
| Trinity | |
| Tulare | |
| Tuolumne | |
| Ventura | |
| Yolo | |
| Yuba |
Need More Help? Here's Your Resource Hub
If you also need to apostille your documents, we’ve got you covered:
- 馃摌 DIY Apostille Guides on Amazon (English & Espa帽ol)
- 馃洅 Downloadable DIY Guides on Etsy
- ⚡ Full Service California Apostille (2-Day Processing)
- 馃寪 Certified Translation Services – Fast & accurate for legal use abroad
- 馃敆 All Links & Resources