Quick facts
- Category: Financial / Real Estate
- Apostilled by the California Secretary of State (Sacramento or Los Angeles)
- Fee: $20 per document (mail) or $26 (walk-in) at the California Secretary of State
- Free document review before you pay any government fee
- Tracked outbound and return shipping included
What to know
Self-prepared — no issuing office. 1. Prepare the promissory note with the amount, terms, and parties. 2. The maker (and any guarantor required) personally appears before a California notary with satisfactory ID and acknowledges the signature. 3. Confirm the notary’s seal, signature, commission number, and expiration are present and legible. Who signs. The maker (and any guarantor). Cost + timeline for THIS step (verified June 2026): notary $15 per signature (Gov. Code §8211(a)); usually same-day. What the SOS needs to see: a California notary’s acknowledgment of the maker’s signature — current commission, legible seal/signature, commission number and expiration shown. The SOS verifies the notary, then attaches the apostille. Acknowledgment (the signature is acknowledged). Notarial wording must be current California language and in English (the note can be in any language). General.
Frequently asked questions
Note or loan agreement?
A promissory note is the maker’s promise to pay; a loan agreement (#267) is the full contract. Apostille whichever the destination requires (sometimes both).
Do guarantors get notarized too?
If their acknowledgment is required, yes — each is a separate $15.
Acknowledgment or jurat?
Acknowledgment — the signature is acknowledged.
My notary is out of state — OK?
No. Only a California notary’s signature can be apostilled by the California SOS.
Common destinations
Countries this document is most often sent to (pulled from this page's own guidance). Every destination has its own rulebook — apostille (Hague) or full legalization (non-Hague).