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
County Recorder-certified copy (recorded ownership document). 1. Identify the recorded ownership document (usually the grant deed) for the property’s county. 2. Request a certified copy from the County Recorder. 3. The Recorder issues the certified copy: $1.00 certification (Gov. Code §27364) + per-page copy fee (county-set, Gov. Code §27366). (For a private title insurance/preliminary report: a title-company officer signs and a CA notary notarizes the signature — the notarized route, $15 acknowledgment.) Who issues it. The County Recorder (recorded deed) — or a title company (private report, notarized route). Cost + timeline for THIS step (verified June 2026): $1.00 certification + county-set per-page copy fee (certified route); turnaround varies by county. What the SOS needs to see (certified route): a County Recorder-certified copy with the Recorder’s official certification,.
Frequently asked questions
Where’s my “title certificate”?
California doesn’t issue one for real property — ownership is shown by the recorded deed. Apostille a certified copy of that.
Title report or recorded deed?
A recorded deed uses the certified County Recorder route; a title insurance/preliminary report is private and uses the notarized route.
Can I notarize a copy of my deed?
No — for the recorded document, get a County Recorder-certified copy.
Does the apostille prove clear title?
No — it authenticates the certification (or notary), not title status.
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).