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. Make a clear copy of the filed return. 2. Prepare a “true copy” affidavit stating the attached copy is a true and correct copy of your filed return. 3. Personally appear before a California notary with satisfactory ID; swear and sign in the notary’s presence; the notary completes the jurat and staples the copy. 4. Confirm the notary’s seal, signature, commission number, and expiration are present and legible. Who swears it. The taxpayer (the affiant). (For an official IRS transcript, request it from the IRS — that’s the federal route, not this one.) Cost + timeline for THIS step (verified June 2026): notary $15 for the jurat (Gov. Code §8211(b)); usually same-day. What the SOS needs to see: a California notary’s jurat on the true-copy affidavit — current commission, legible seal/signature, commission number and expiration shown. The SOS verifies the.
Frequently asked questions
Is a notarized copy the same as an IRS transcript?
No — an IRS transcript is a federal document (and if federally certified, routes to the U.S. Department of State). This is a sworn copy of the return you filed.
Can the notary just certify my return copy?
No — CA notaries can’t copy-certify a return. You swear a true-copy affidavit.
State (FTB) return?
A copy follows this sworn-copy route via the CA notary.
Acknowledgment or jurat?
Jurat — the copy is sworn true.
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).