Adoption Dossier Apostille and Legalization
Need an adoption dossier apostille? SF Notary + Apostille explains how the process works.
What is an adoption dossier?
According to Adoption.org, an adoption dossier is essentially "a collection of documents you will need to complete your international adoption. The assembly of documents is designed to show both the sending and receiving country that the prospective adoptive parents are in good standing and will provide a good forever home for the adoptive child. The specifics of the necessary documents vary slightly from country to country but for the most part, they include statements of your financial standing, your health status, job status, etc."
What is an adoption dossier apostille?
In brief, an adoption dossier apostille is a certification process that validates your records for use abroad. Oftentimes, Americans looking to adopt from overseas will be required to provide notarized and apostilled documents demonstrating their fitness to adopt a child.
The California Secretary of State (CA SOS) apostille process begins with the submission of the notarized documents. A CA SOS staff member first reviews the adoption dossier documents to confirm that they eligible for apostille and verifies the signature of the notary public who signed the documents. If the documents meet all requirements, the Secretary of State issues numbered apostille certificates, which are attached to each notarization. Each apostille is then permanently bound to the corresponding document with the official red circular seal, stamped so that it appears partially on both the apostille certificate and the notarized document. Our expedited apostille service completes this process in as little as one to two business days.
Countries that are not members of the Hague Apostille Convention (such as Thailand, the UAE, or Vietnam) require additional embassy or consulate authentication and often U.S. State Department legalization. We will detail the additional authentication services required and the timeline for obtaining them in our price quote. (See Step 1 below).
How do I get my adoption dossier apostilled or legalized?
Step 1: Email us for a price quote
Our pricing varies depending on what country it's going to, your location, the turnaround time needed, and the shipping destination. In order to get a quick price quote, email info@sfnotary.com with the following information:
Your name, address, and phone number
The name, address, phone number, and email address of the recipient (if you'd like us to ship it to a third party)
The destination country
A statement about whether the documents are already notarized or need to be notarized
We will respond without delay with a price quote, estimated timing, and payment instructions. Once we receive payment, we will start the apostille/legalization process.
Step 2: Get the documents notarized
Generally, many of the documents must be signed in front of a notary public. If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, we can meet you and notarize the documents. Adoption dossiers in particular often include documents that need to be signed by your physician. Accordingly, we generally recommend meeting at your doctor's office to sign and notarize all of the documents at the same time.
If you are elsewhere in California, you can visit a local notary to get your adoption paperwork notarized. For assistance outside of California, please call +1 (415) 655-9455 or email info@sfnotary.com to discuss options.
Step 3: Get the adoption dossier to us
If we notarize your documents, we will take the notarized documents with us and courier them to the Secretary of State's office on your behalf. If another notary public notarizes them, we can arrange a pickup or drop-off, or we can email you a FedEx Priority Overnight shipping label that you can print and use to ship the notarized documents to us.
If you are paying by check, please make it out to “SF Notary + Apostille.” Otherwise, we will send you an invoice by email with a payment link that allows you to pay by credit card.
Step 4: We handle the rest
After notarization, we will obtain apostilles from the California Secretary of State in Sacramento and ship the docs within one to two business days. If you need the adoption dossier documents legalized for a non-Hague apostille country, we will obtain the consulate, embassy and/or US State Department authentications for you for an additional fee, then ship them as soon as they are fully apostilled and legalized. We use FedEx Priority Overnight Service for USA destinations and FedEx International Priority Service for overseas destinations. For any documents shipped overseas, we will also send you a scan of the apostilled documents for your records.
Contact us about an adoption dossier apostille
For more information or to place your order, please email info@sfnotary.com or call +1 (415) 655-9455.
Disclaimer: Information on this website is for informational purposes only. These instructions are based on our knowledge and experience and are meant to be helpful; however, they might contain errors. Please let us know if you encounter mistakes so that we can promptly correct them. SF Notary + Apostille is not a law firm, and its agents are not attorneys. Please contact a licensed attorney or your local bar association for counsel on legal matters.