Originally posted February 15, 2017 Revised September 29, 2026
I wrote about the Apostille, which certifies that a notary public was commissioned to notarize a document at a certain time. An Apostille is sent to another country which abides by the Hague Convention. But what do you do if someone from another state or non-Hague Convention country wants certification of the Notary Public?
Well, there’s no app for that but there is a document you can obtain. It’s called a Certificate of Notarial Authority. Like the Apostille, this certificate will authenticate that the notary public was commissioned to perform notaries at the time the document was notarized. Each state certificate may have different wording, but it is still sent from the state’s appointing authority, which in California is the California Secretary of State. This certificate, like the Apostille, only certifies the notary public, not the document or the contents of the document.
So, if you are needing to receive a notarized document from another state or from another country, you might run into a Certificate of Notarial Authority (or an Apostille). If you want to absolutely confirm the notarization of a document your client is to have notarized, you might also insist on a Certificate of Notarial Authority or an Apostille. These documents are there for you to use to protect you from fraud and can protect you and your client. Contact your state’s Secretary of State for a Certificate of Notarial Authority. In California, they can be contacted via their website: http://sos.ca.gov.