Quick facts
- Category: Affidavit / Sworn Statement
- 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 or payer’s form — no issuing office. 1. Use the payer’s life-certificate form if provided, or draft an affidavit stating you are alive, with identity details, the pension/benefit reference, and the date. 2. Personally appear before a California notary with satisfactory ID. The notary administers an oath and completes a jurat; you sign in the notary’s presence. 3. Confirm the notary’s seal, signature, commission number, and expiration are present and legible. Who can swear it. Only the living person whose existence is being certified (mobile/home-visit notaries can help if the person is homebound but lucid and able to sign). Cost + timeline for THIS step (verified June 2026): notary $15 for the jurat (Gov. Code §8211(b)); usually same-day. Drafting is free. What the SOS needs to see: a California notary’s jurat — current commission, legible seal/signature, commission number.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly do I submit?
Your sworn Proof-of-Life affidavit (or the payer’s life-certificate form), notarized with a jurat. The SOS apostilles the notary’s signature.
Can a family member sign for the pensioner?
No — the living person must personally appear and sign. That’s the point of a proof-of-life.
The pensioner is homebound — options?
A mobile/home-visit notary can travel to them, as long as the person can present ID and sign.
Can I use my pension fund’s own form?
Yes — complete it, then have a California notary do the jurat.
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).