IN-PERSON AUTHENTICATION SERVICE REGULARLY AVAILABLE ONLY IN LOS ANGELES AND SACRAMENTO

San Diego, CA – San Diego Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk Jordan Z. Marks, in partnership with the California Secretary of State, will host an Apostille Pop-Up Shop event from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday, March 12 at the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk offices, Room 273, at the San Diego County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, San Diego. Free underground parking is available at the entrance on Ash Street. No appointment is necessary.

San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk Jordan Marks said, “My office is excited to partner with California Secretary of State Shirley Weber once again to deliver this much-needed service here in San Diego,” said Marks. “As your elected advocate, I proactively sought out this great opportunity from the Secretary of State for San Diegans because it will save many who live and do business on the border, serve in our military, or are traveling internationally from an institution of higher education from having to travel hundreds of miles or spend hundreds of dollars to obtain this apostille authentication services. San Diego County is an international region, and our office is proud to host this event that will cut the red tape and save San Diegans time and money.”

Apostille is the process that certifies the authenticity of documents for international uses. The authentication involves a signature by a public official. At this event, apostille services will be provided for various documents for international use, including birth, death and marriage certificates, educational documents required for university students’ international travel, military documents and other documents required for business on the border. California Secretary of State officials will be in attendance to certify documents.

On March 12 your Recorder Office will help residents avoid traveling to Sacramento or Los Angeles for in-person apostille services. Normally, in-person apostille services are available only at California Secretary of State offices in Sacramento and Los Angeles. Apostille services can be processed by mail, but there’s a chance of not filling out documents correctly without review by a government worker. Plus, there’s a four-to-six-week wait time.

Documents must be originals, no photocopies. Fees charged by the Secretary of State include $20 for processing each apostille document, plus $6 special handling fee for each public official’s authentication signature. Non-cash payments can be made with Visa or MasterCard, personal check, or money order.

For more information about the March 12 Apostille Pop-Up Shop event, visit www.sdarcc.gov/apostillepopup.

This is the second year the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk’s Downtown San Diego office has hosted apostille services provided by the California Secretary of State. Last year there were three pop-up dates where hundreds of people showed-up at the ARCC office. We are excited to once again partner to bring these much-needed services to San Diego.

In 2024, the Secretary of State reported that 1,329 customers were served and a total of 2,854 apostilles were issued during the San Diego apostille events. 

According to Marks, among the individuals helped last year included a military member getting a driver’s license certified for a deployment in Italy, several marriage certifications and international students getting diplomas verified before returning to home countries.

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Jordan Marks was elected San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk in 2022 to oversee the fifth largest Assessor jurisdiction in the United States. The office oversees assessing the value of real estate and personal property, which includes aircraft and boats. Marks has ushered in award-winning community outreach and education programs that have resulted in record-high property tax relief saving millions for veterans, homeowners, and seniors. He has modernized systems adding more online services and reducing paper waste. Marks was awarded the 2024 San Diego County Taxpayer Watchdog award for saving taxpayers millions of dollars in property taxes. Marks is a California Certified Property Tax Appraiser, a California licensed attorney, and a certified cybersecurity executive from the University of San Diego.