Apostille Pop-Up Event Comes to Santa Barbara
California Secretary of State Dispatching Deputies to County Courthouse's Hall of Records on January 7
While most people have no idea what an “Apostille” certification is or how its name evolved, the California Secretary of State is dispatching a team of deputies to Santa Barbara’s historic downtown courthouse — the Hall of Records and its high-vaulted ceilings, to be more precise — for a one-day pop-up event this Tuesday, January 7, to help people pursuing official transactions in other countries get the requisite level of certification their documents will need.
“Let’s say you’re pursuing a life insurance claim in Mexico,” said Melinda Greene of the County Clerk-Recorder’s office. “You need the death certificate certified by the Secretary of State. The signature of a county official isn’t enough.”
This marks the first time the Secretary of State has offered this service up close and personal in Santa Barbara. When Greene heard the Secretary of State office was doing this service in San Diego and Dublin, she called the Secretary of State’s office and offered the county’s Hall of Records as an all-day venue. Her offer was accepted. Typically, such document authentications take place via the mail, but that takes considerably longer. Otherwise, face-to-face transactions are possible, but only for those willing to drive to Los Angeles or Sacramento.
Greene said this event was in the offing long before Donald Trump was elected president and has nothing to do with the expressions of resistance by high-ranking state officials — like Governor Gavin Newsom — to Trump’s threat of mass deportations. Greene said Santa Barbara was chosen rather than Santa Maria because it was more convenient to Ventura County residents who might need a higher level of document authentication.
The event runs 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Greene was reluctant to hazard a guess as to turnout but warned people should prepare for possible wait times as long as two hours.
