Documents for India
OCI, Indian passport paperwork, powers of attorney, affidavits and annexures — notarized here. If your document needs an apostille, that part is filed by you with the state.
Now booking. Call (925) 319-8855.
OCI applications, passport renewals, annexures, powers of attorney for property back home.
This is the most common overseas request in the Tri-Valley, and these pages are useful right now whether or not you use us.
Start here: three words people mix upLink to this section
Notarization — a California notary checks your ID and stamps your signature. This is what affidavits, annexures, declarations and powers of attorney need. This is the part done here.
Apostille — a certificate from the California Secretary of State that makes a California document acceptable in India. India accepts apostilles, so consulate legalization on top is usually unnecessary. A notary cannot issue one — only the Secretary of State can. You file for it yourself; here is exactly how.
Attestation — what the Indian Consulate or VFS does once a document has been notarized and apostilled as required.
They happen in that order: notarize (here) → apostille (you file it) → submit (to VFS or the consulate).
Pick your situationLink to this section
OCI application or renewalLink to this section
Which documents need an apostille and which do not. Birth certificates, marriage certificates, name change orders.
Indian passport renewal or reissueLink to this section
The annexures and the Change of Appearance form that need a notary — including the one nearly everybody forgets.
Power of attorney for property or family matters in IndiaLink to this section
Selling a flat, managing an account, handling an inheritance, appearing in a case. The most demanding document of the lot.
Other affidavits and declarationsLink to this section
Name change, single status, sponsorship, gift declarations, PAN forms, life certificates for a pension, no-objection letters. All notarizable.
How it worksLink to this section
1. Call (925) 319-8855 and say what you are applying for. Not just "I need a notary" — "OCI for my daughter," or "POA to sell a flat in Bengaluru." It changes what gets prepared.
2. Bring documents and ID. Filled in, unsigned. Which IDs work.
3. Notarization at the Pleasanton office, or at your home.
4. If your document needs an apostille, you file for it yourself with the California Secretary of State. Official instructions and addresses, including the same-day Sacramento office →
5. You submit to VFS or the consulate. That part stays yours, but everything will be in the right order.
Where things get submittedLink to this section
The Consulate General of India, San Francisco covers California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Hawaii and Guam — so all of the Tri-Valley.
Since August 2025, miscellaneous consular and attestation services go through VFS Global rather than the consulate counter. Passport and OCI applications run through VFS too.
- Consulate General of India, San Francisco
- Attestation of documents — official guidance
- Passport-related services
- VFS Global — Indian consular services in the USA
- California Secretary of State — request an apostille
The line that cannot be crossedLink to this section
A notary can notarize your document. A notary cannot tell you which documents your application needs.
That is not unhelpfulness. Giving that advice would be practising law without a licence, which is illegal in California — and consulate requirements change without notice.
Always confirm your document list with VFS or the consulate before spending money on anything.
Worth knowing nowLink to this section
Documents issued in India cannot be apostilled here. California apostilles California documents. An Indian birth certificate must be apostilled in India by the Ministry of External Affairs. Nobody in the United States can do it.
Documents from other US states go to that state. A New Jersey marriage certificate needs a New Jersey apostille.
Federal documents are different. An FBI background check is authenticated by the US Department of State, not California.
US passports and naturalization certificates normally are not apostilled. They are identity documents — a notarized copy is usually what is wanted.
Self-attested is not notarized. "Self-attested" means you sign the photocopy yourself. No notary needed for those pages.
LanguageLink to this section
One California rule worth knowing before you book anyone: the notary and the signer must be able to talk directly to each other. A family member or translator interpreting between them is not permitted. The document can be in any language — the conversation cannot go through a third person.
Languages available here: English.
CostLink to this section
- $10 per page for notarization
- $75 flat travel fee, if we come to you
- $20 per apostille to the State of California, plus $6 per extra official signature — paid directly to the state when you file, not to us
Book nowLink to this section
Call (925) 319-8855.
General information only. This is not a law firm, is not affiliated with the Government of India, the Consulate General of India, or VFS Global, and cannot advise you on your application. Always confirm requirements with the consulate or VFS.