In order to be valid in Brazil, all foreign documents must first be notarized by a Notary Public. After notarization, the documents must be sent to this Consulate for the necessary authentication.

For the authentication of Birth or Death Certificates, Marriage Licenses or Certificates of Marriage Dissolution, certified copies are also accepted.

The legalization of the signatures of local authorities such as: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Mayor, Judge of Superior Court, School Official, Public Official, Police Official, etc. does not need to be notarized by a notary public.

The Notary Public’s seal must be stamped directly on the document to be forwarded to the Consulate. Please note that the Legal Section will only authenticate original documents, issued in the jurisdiction of this Consulate as indicated below (Notes - letter “d”).

The Notary Public must state clearly that the signer(s) of the document appeared before him/her in order to have his/her/their signature(s) authenticated.

The Notary Public must clearly indicate with his/her seal the county where he/she is registered.

In documents with more than one signature, the Notary Public must clearly indicate which signature(s) is(are) being authenticated.

Legalizations may be processed by mail only when a self-addressed, registered, stamped USPS (United States Postal Service) envelope is provided. Effective January 1^st, 2008, the Consulate-General will no longer accept delivery of envelopes transported by courier services such as Federal Express, UPS, DHL and others.  The Consulate General will only accept delivery of envelopes transported by the United States Postal Service (Post Office). The same rule applies to envelopes for returning documents: only pre-paid U.S. Postal Service envelopes will be accepted for returning documents.

There is a consular fee of $20.00 (twenty dollars) per document. The fee for school documents is $5.00 (five dollars) per document. The Consulate accepts only cash, money orders, or company checks.

Documents processed at this Consulate will not be sent directly to Brazil;

Allow a minimum of four business days for the processing of documents;

For the validation of school diplomas and/or transcripts grades, please check the specific information;

The Brazilian Consulate in San Francisco has jurisdiction over the states of Oregon, Washington, Alaska and in California over the following counties: Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Inyo, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Ladera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Benedito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislau, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo, Yuma.