Apostille San Francisco
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Apostille for Portugal · from California documents
Portugal.
Portugal.
Hague since 1969.
Six-month clock.
The Consulate General of Portugal in San Francisco asks for a long-form birth certificate with apostille, issued within the last six months, for citizenship of children born to Portuguese parents, and even the notarized passport copy has to be apostilled inside that window. What fails is the certified copy underneath: issuing office, signature on file, issue date. We time and check that before the fee.
At a glance
RouteHague apostille · California Secretary of State
ConsulateNot required as legalization; the consulate itself asks for the apostille on citizenship files
DocumentsBirth, marriage, death certificates · notarized passport copies · FBI background checks (federal route) · degrees and transcripts · powers of attorney · corporate documents
TranslationThe San Francisco consulate’s citizenship and marriage checklists publish no translation rule for U.S. records. Inside Portugal, the registry institute (IRN) has foreign-language documents translated for registry acts unless the official waives it for English, and AIMA lists who may translate. We confirm with the receiving office.
Price$180 mail-in · $450 same-day · $650 for 3
Before you send anything
What the counter accepts for Portugal.
Each line is a real rejection we screen for in the $45 Document Check.
01Certified copy from the county recorder or CDPH, not a hospital or informational copy.
02Current signing official. The Secretary of State authenticates only signatures it has on file.
03Notarized first if it is a power of attorney, affidavit or copy certification.
04Issued within six months, apostille inside the window. For citizenship of a child born to Portuguese parents, the San Francisco consulate wants the applicant’s long-form birth certificate with apostille, issued within the last six months; the application form notarized and apostilled within the last six months; a passport copy notarized and apostilled within the last six months; and a non-Portuguese parent’s birth certificate apostilled, also within six months. We order and file so every date still holds when the envelope is opened.
$6503 documents · one emergency trip · filed together
Citizenship and marriage sets
Birth certificates, notarized passport copies and marriage records for the consulate’s citizenship files, filed together in one Sacramento trip.
Returned tracked, with status updates, to Portugal or wherever you are. Price confirmed before any work begins.
Asked on nearly every Portugal call.
01Does the Portuguese consulate in San Francisco still need to legalize it?
No. Portugal has been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 4 February 1969, and AIMA, the Portuguese migration agency, states that a document from a Hague signatory is recognised by applying the apostille. The San Francisco consulate’s own citizenship checklist asks for the apostille directly: the long-form birth certificate with apostille, issued within the last six months.
02Do I need the apostille to register my marriage at the consulate?
For marriage registration by mail, the consulate asks for the original long-form marriage certificate and the foreign spouse’s birth certificate, each issued within the last six months, and states that a certificate must be apostilled if it was issued outside the USA. A California certificate registered at the consulate therefore needs the six-month date but not the apostille; the same certificate going to a conservatória, AIMA or a court in Portugal is a different receiving office, and we confirm what it wants before filing.
03Does my English certificate need a Portuguese translation?
The consulate’s checklists publish no translation rule for U.S. records. For a registry act in Portugal, the Institute of Registries and Notary states that foreign-language documents are translated, with a waiver possible when the document is in English and the official is fluent in it, and AIMA lists who may translate: a Portuguese notary, registrar, lawyer or solicitador, a recognised chamber of commerce, a translator certified by one of them, or a Portuguese consul. We confirm rather than assume. Translation is Quoted per document by page and language before anything starts; delivered certified with a signed certificate of authenticity.
04I live in Portugal already. Can you do the whole thing without me?
Yes. Order the certified copy from the county or the state and have it shipped to our office at 416 Bryant Street, San Francisco, CA 94107, or mail us what you already hold. We check it, file it, and ship the finished apostille tracked to your address in Portugal. International delivery is quoted per destination before we start, and we can keep you updated by WhatsApp if you prefer.