A notary checks your ID and stamps your signature. For India, that usually means OCI forms, Indian passport annexures, a power of attorney for property, or an affidavit for a name change. Notarizing costs $10 for each document notarized. If your document also needs an apostille, that is a separate step you file yourself with the State of California.

Now booking. Call (925) 319-8855.

Three words people mix upLink to this section

Word	What it means	Who does it
Notarization	A California notary checks your photo ID, watches you sign, and stamps the page.	Done here. $10 for each document.
Apostille	A certificate from the California Secretary of State. It proves the notary's signature is real, so India will accept the document.	Only the California Secretary of State. You file for it yourself.
Attestation	The Indian government's own check on the finished document.	The consulate, through VFS Global.

They happen in that order:

Notarize the document. That part happens here.
Send it for an apostille, if your case needs one. You do this yourself.
Submit it to VFS Global or the consulate. You do this yourself.

A notary cannot issue an apostille. No notary in California can. The Secretary of State issues it, and you apply to them directly. We do not charge anything for it because we do not do it. How to file for an apostille yourself.

India and the United States both signed the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille from California is normally enough. You do not usually need extra legalization from the consulate on top.

Pick your situationLink to this section

OCI application or renewal Link to this section

Which papers need an apostille, and which do not. Birth certificates, marriage certificates, name change orders.

Indian passport renewal or reissue Link to this section

The annexures and affidavits in the VFS packet, and which of them the checklist says must be notarized.

Power of attorney for property in India Link to this section

Selling a flat, managing an account, handling an inheritance. This one has the most steps.

Other affidavits and declarationsLink to this section

Name change, single status, sponsorship, gift declarations, life certificates for a pension, no-objection letters. A notary can notarize your signature on any of these.

How it worksLink to this section

Call (925) 319-8855 and say what you are applying for. "OCI for my daughter" tells us more than "I need a notary." It changes what we set up.
Bring the forms filled in, but not signed. Sign in front of the notary, not before. Bring your photo ID. Which IDs work.
We notarize. At the Pleasanton office, or at your home for a $75 flat travel fee.
You file for the apostille, if your case needs one. Instructions and addresses.
You submit to VFS Global or the consulate.

Where things get submittedLink to this section

Since 1 August 2025, the consulate's own notice says miscellaneous consular and attestation services go through VFS Global instead of the consulate counter. Passport and OCI applications go through VFS too. The VFS centre for the Bay Area is in San Francisco.

Consular jurisdiction also changed in August 2025. Alameda and Contra Costa counties fall under the Consulate General of India, San Francisco. If you are helping family in another state, check the current list before you post anything.

What a notary cannot do for youLink to this section

A notary can notarize your document. A notary cannot tell you which documents your application needs.

That is not us being unhelpful. Advising you on your application would be practising law without a licence, and that is illegal in California. Requirements also change without notice.

Confirm your own document list with VFS Global or the consulate before you spend any money.

Worth knowing before you startLink to this section

A document issued in India cannot be apostilled here. California apostilles California documents. An Indian birth certificate has to be apostilled in India, by the Ministry of External Affairs. Nobody in the United States can do it.

A document from another US state goes back to that state. A New Jersey marriage certificate needs a New Jersey apostille.

A federal document goes to the federal government. An FBI background check is authenticated by the US Department of State, not by California.

A notary cannot certify that a photocopy is a true copy. California law does not allow it, except for a power of attorney. When a checklist asks for a "notarized copy" of a green card or a passport, what a notary can do is notarize your signature on a statement you sign about that copy. Ask VFS whether that meets their requirement before you pay for it.

Self-attested is not the same as notarized. Self-attested means you sign the photocopy yourself. No notary is involved, and there is nothing to pay.

LanguageLink to this section

One California rule is worth knowing before you book any notary. The notary and the signer have to be able to talk to each other directly. The state's handbook says an interpreter should not be used, because meaning gets lost in translation. If the notary cannot talk with you, you should be sent to a notary who speaks your language.

The document itself can be in any language. It is the conversation that has to be direct.

Languages spoken here: English.

CostLink to this section

Notarization	$10 for each document notarized
Travel to you	$75 flat
Apostille	$20 per apostille, paid to the State of California when you file. Not paid to us.

The state charges an extra handling fee in some cases. The current fees are on the Secretary of State's page.

Pricing

Book nowLink to this section

Call (925) 319-8855.

General information only. This is not a law firm. It is not connected to the Government of India, the Consulate General of India, or VFS Global, and it cannot advise you on your application. Always confirm requirements with the consulate or VFS.

Which documents for India can a notary help with?