Birth Certificate Translation in California
California birth certificates come in two versions, and ordering the wrong one is the most common reason a California certificate is refused abroad. The authorized copy is released only to the registrant, close relatives and a few others, and can prove identity. The informational copy is available to anyone and is stamped as unusable for identity purposes.
Consulates, foreign registries and the Secretary of State's apostille office all need the authorized copy, from the county recorder where the birth occurred or from the California Department of Public Health in Sacramento.
Filing details for California
- State vital records office
- California Department of Public Health, Vital Records (Sacramento), and county recorders
- Apostille authority
- California Secretary of State
We serve California remotely from our office in Edgewater, New Jersey.
The foreign birth records California filers hold
Many California applicants now bring a Mexican acta de nacimiento printed from Mexico's online civil-registry service rather than a certified paper copy. These carry an electronic signature and a verification code, and the translation reproduces both, because they are how the record is checked.
Guatemalan certificates issued since the national registry, RENAP, took over civil registration look nothing like older municipal ones. Korean applicants usually submit the basic certificate, which carries the birth details, alongside the family relationship certificate. Iranian applicants hold a shenasnameh, an identity booklet in which the birth is simply the first of several entries.
A California birth certificate going abroad
The Secretary of State apostilles California vital records from offices in Sacramento and Los Angeles. A US-born child of foreign parents often needs exactly this to register the birth with the parents' country: authorized copy, apostille, then translation into that country's language.
Bearbeitungszeit
24 hours standard; 6-8 hours (+50%) or 1-3 hours (+100%) expedited
Price
$49 first page, then $0.12/word. Details
Sprachen
100+ languages. See all
Häufig gestellte Fragen
Which California copy do I need?
The authorized certified copy. The informational version cannot be used for identity or apostilled.
Can you translate a Mexican acta printed online?
Yes, including the electronic signature block and verification code.
Do you have a California office?
No. Our only office is in Edgewater, New Jersey. California work is delivered electronically.
The full Birth Certificate Translation guide →
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