Korean Job Discussion Forums

[forgesteel]

I am in Korea. I am sending my diploma to my sister who is in California. My diploma is from a university in California. I gave pretty explicit instructions, but she had a question:

"What exactly am I getting the diploma notarized for? Is it to attest that it is an authentic copy of your degree? If so, I don't believe that a notary and I would be able to legally attest to that information, since I am not the degree holder and you will not be present."

My response, based on the reading I've done in these threads and elsewhere:

"You are not actually getting the degree notarised. You are asking a Public Notary to copy the degree for you (photocopy) and he is notarising this photocopy. That notarised photocopy of the diploma is actually what the California Secretary of State will be affixing the apostille to."

Is this generally correct?

Or- Does my sister need to go to my school campus and get some paperwork from them attesting to the idea that my diploma is real? The campus is far away enough from her to be inconvenient and for me to want to avoid involving them in this process, if possible.

Elsewhere I have read that any Public Notary will do, that many banks have people who are qualified to do such paperwork, making me believe that I need not be involving my school in this process.

The California Secretary of State website (paragraph at top) seems to indicate that any public notary will do:

http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/notary/authentication.htm

Thanks in advance for any info on this.

[melirae1976]

You've read and understood all the threads well! The notary is not attesting that the degree is valid, only that the phtocopy is a true copy of the original document. In the event that the notary doesn't make the copy, then they will only sign an affidavit, where whoever (your sister) made the copy swore to them that it was a true copy. I made my photocopy myself, so the bank where I took it for notary made me do the affidavit, which I wrote by hand and he then notarized. The people at the office who did the apostille had no problem with this and said the notary did the right thing since he had not made the photocopy.

[ThingsComeAround]

Ouch! that sucks.
You ask someone to help you then they have "questions" on how to do it.
The process is not difficult, but it is tedious, so I understand her reservation.

I went ahead and did it in my home state, NY. There, I went to my uni, had the school notary (an extremely lazy woman) photocopy and stamp it, then I had to take it to the county courthouse, then get an apostille.

Yes- your actual diploma is only copied.

Good luck

[forgesteel]

thingscomearound: you are right. tedious is the word! she just wants to make sure she is not wasting her (and my!) time. i appreciate her thoroughness!

thanks you guys for the replies. it helps!!

so i wrote the letter explaining the purpose (employment as English teacher) and the place I will be using it (Korea).

she gets a public notary to do their thing to the photocopy (THEY make, not my sister). she sends the notarised copy plus my letter of explanation to california secretary of state. does she need to *also* send in my original diploma to the california secretary of state or is that redundant?

[marsavalanche]

[Alias77]

They wouldn't need the original document. If you'd read what an apostille is, they don't background check anything. Sending the original would serve no purpose.

Also, I wanted to add that years ago I ordered a second copy of my degree which I was able to get notarized in the degree office at my university. That took one step out on the spot.

[forgesteel]

thanks, people. useful info!

just checking and re-checking for completeness's sake.

[Reggie]

[clewis]

I live in WA and went to school in AZ. I contacted both State departments and they both got back to me and said I could get it apostilled in either state, as long as the notarizing was done in the state I choose to get it apostilled in.

I really think it is a state to state decision since I have heard other people say they had to get it done in the state their degree as from. Best bet is to contact your secretary of state. Both states got back to me within a day.

[emmahearst]

It depends on which SOS she is going to in California. One is a pain to go to 'cause you have to do additional steps (depending on county) and traffic is not nice. She'll have fun and you will owe her a big christmas or bday present. Also, the bank is not the best place to go. Banks normally handle loans and other financial documents, not school. You set her up for a nice day.

[forgesteel]

Not going anywhere. She's mailing the part that goes to the California Secretary of State. I have heard from a few friends a bank is fine.

[emmahearst]

Just make sure the bank does it correctly or when it get to you in South Korea, you'll just be frustrated that it got rejected because of a slight error on the notary. I've known people that got their docs rejected because of the notary part.

[forgesteel]

good advice!