Certified Translation Services for Los Angeles, California
Apostille Authentications prepares certified translations for Los Angeles customers from $65 per page, and most are finished in 1 to 2 business days. Each translation includes a signed certificate of accuracy. To be clear about where we are: we work remotely from Lake Oswego, in the Portland, Oregon area, and have no Los Angeles location. Files come in through our quote form and go back to you electronically or by mail. The Los Angeles details here come from official sources.
Upload your document below as a PDF, JPEG, PNG or Word file, or call (971) 514-3743 for a quote.
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A city where most households use another language
According to the Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey (1-year), the City of Los Angeles has 3,878,718 residents. An estimated 56.6 percent speak a language other than English at home and 36.1 percent were born abroad.
The City’s Citywide Language Access Plan ranks 14 priority languages in three tiers. Tier 1 is Spanish, Korean, Armenian, Chinese, Filipino/Tagalog and Farsi. Tier 2 is Russian, Vietnamese, Japanese and Thai. Tier 3 is Arabic, Hindi, Bengali and Khmer.
Our most requested languages are Spanish, Russian, Hindi, Urdu, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic and Czech. If yours is not among them, ask before ordering.
Los Angeles County birth, death and marriage records
The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk keeps records of births in the county since 1866. Its headquarters is in Norwalk, not in the city itself, and several branch offices are inside Los Angeles.
- Headquarters. 12400 Imperial Hwy., Norwalk, CA 90650, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- LAX/Courthouse branch. 11701 S. La Cienega Blvd., 6th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90045
- East Los Angeles branch. 4716 E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., Building C, Los Angeles, CA 90022
- Van Nuys branch. 14340 W. Sylvan St., Van Nuys, CA 91401
- Birth certificate fee. $34 for an authorized certified copy. In-person requests at Norwalk are by appointment, started online.
- Very recent births. The County Department of Public Health Vital Records Office, 313 N. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, issues birth certificates for the current and prior year only, excluding Pasadena and Long Beach, at $34.00 per copy.
Getting an apostille in Los Angeles
The California Secretary of State runs a regional office at 300 South Spring Street, Room 12513, Los Angeles, CA 90013. It gives same-day, in-person apostille service with no appointment. The office says requests are typically processed within 30 minutes and that you should arrive by 4:30 p.m. Use the Los Angeles version of the Apostille Request Cover Sheet. This counter accepts credit card, check or money order, and does not take cash.
One local catch concerns Public Health birth certificates. The Secretary of State cannot authenticate a local health officer’s signature until the county clerk has certified it. The Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk lists a birth certificate authentication service at $20 per signature, by appointment at the main office and not at district offices. It also authenticates Los Angeles County notary signatures for $9 each. A certified copy issued by the Registrar-Recorder itself avoids the extra step.
| Apostille fee | $20 per apostille |
|---|---|
| In-person special handling fee | $6 per different public official’s signature |
| Mail alternative | Notary Public Section, P.O. Box 942877, Sacramento, CA 94277-0001 |
Ordering from Los Angeles: what to send and what comes back
Take a clear scan or photo of every page, including stamps and the reverse side, and upload it through the quote form in PDF, JPEG, PNG or Word format. We confirm the cost and timing, translate the document and send back the certified translation with its signed certificate of accuracy. Hard copies can be mailed anywhere in Los Angeles County.
If the receiving office wants the translator’s statement notarized, we can arrange that. The notarization is not done by a California notary, so tell us if a California notarization is specifically required. Phone (971) 514-3743, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Los Angeles courts
The Superior Court of Los Angeles County provides interpreters free of charge, and its online request form covers eviction, small claims, civil, traffic, family law and probate cases in Armenian, Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese. The central family law departments sit at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
An interpreter does not replace a written translation. Rule 3.1110(g) of the California Rules of Court calls for an English translation, certified under oath by a qualified interpreter, with any exhibit written in a foreign language.
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California is at 350 W 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
Consulates and immigration filings
Los Angeles County’s services locator lists these consulates general in the city, among others: Mexico (2401 W. 6th St.), the People’s Republic of China (443 Shatto Pl.), Korea (3243 Wilshire Blvd.), Japan (350 S. Grand Ave.), Canada (550 S. Hope St.), Costa Rica (1605 W. Olympic Blvd.), Lebanon (660 S. Figueroa St.) and Ireland (1631 Beverly Blvd.). Each sets its own requirements for translations and apostilles, so ask the consulate first.
For USCIS, the federal rule at 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) requires a full English translation that the translator certifies as complete and accurate, together with a certification that the translator is competent to translate from the foreign language into English.
UCLA and USC rules for foreign transcripts
- UCLA Graduate Admissions. Unless the institution routinely issues records in English, records in their original language must be submitted with an authorized, complete and exact English translation.
- USC Graduate Admission. USC asks for transcripts in the original language with a separate, word-for-word English translation, issued by the school itself or by a professional, certified translator. It does not accept credential evaluation reports in place of academic records.
Related services for Los Angeles
- California document translation services: the statewide rules for courts, notaries, vital records and driver licensing
- California apostille service
- All document translation services
Los Angeles translation questions
Apostille Authentications charges from $65 per page and completes most translations in 1 to 2 business days. The service is remote, run from the Portland, Oregon area, with delivery electronically or by mail.
Yes. The California Secretary of State’s Los Angeles office at 300 South Spring Street, Room 12513, offers same-day service without an appointment for $20 per apostille plus a $6 special handling fee per different official’s signature.
The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk issues authorized certified copies for $34, with headquarters at 12400 Imperial Hwy. in Norwalk. Births in the current and prior year are also issued by the County Department of Public Health.
Yes. The court states that interpreter services are free of charge and takes requests online for several case types. Written exhibits in a foreign language still need an English translation under rule 3.1110(g).
USC Graduate Admission says the English translation must be word-for-word and issued either by the school or by a professional, certified translator. The original-language transcript is still required.
A common reason is that it was signed by a local health officer. The Secretary of State requires the county clerk to certify that signature first, or a certified copy from the county recorder or the state.
Sources
The local details on this page come from these official sources.
- California Secretary of State: Request an Apostille
- California Secretary of State: Apostille FAQs
- California Secretary of State: Processing Times
- LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk: Branch Office Locations
- LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk: Birth Record In-Person Request
- LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk: Authentication services
- LA County Public Health: Birth Certificates
- Superior Court of Los Angeles County: Interpreter Request
- Superior Court of Los Angeles County: Family Law Departments Directory
- California Rules of Court, rule 3.1110
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California: First Street Courthouse
- Los Angeles County Services Locator: Consulate Offices
- 8 CFR 103.2 (eCFR)
- UCLA Graduate Admissions: Required Academic Records
- USC Graduate Admission: Transcript Requirements
- City of Los Angeles Citywide Language Access Plan
- Census Reporter: Los Angeles, CA (ACS 2024 1-year)
Get your Los Angeles translation started
Upload your document for a quote, or call (971) 514-3743 and tell us where the translation is going. We confirm the level of certification you need before any work begins.