German consulate in California

California is not covered by one German consulate but by two, and the line between them is drawn county by county. Ten southern counties belong to Los Angeles and the other forty-eight to San Francisco.

Which German office covers your county

There is no single answer for California. The Consulate Finder splits the state county by county, and the line does not follow any obvious geography.

Consulate Counties
Los Angeles Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura
San Francisco Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Inyo, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo, Yuba
Kern County is claimed by both. The official Consulate Finder lists Kern in the Los Angeles district and again in the San Francisco one, in the same document. We are not going to pick one for you: if you live in Bakersfield or anywhere else in Kern, contact both before booking, because an appointment with the wrong mission is wasted.
Los Angeles: the ten southern counties
San Francisco: the rest of the state

Honorary consuls covering this state

  • San Diego, though its passport capability is not published

Cities in California and how far the consulate is

City Consulate Distance
Anaheim Los Angeles 35 mi · 47 min
Bakersfield Los Angeles or San Francisco 109 mi · 2 h 12 min
Chula Vista Los Angeles 136 mi · 2 h 46 min
Fresno San Francisco 187 mi · 3 h 45 min
Irvine Los Angeles 47 mi · 1 h
Long Beach Los Angeles 28 mi · 42 min
Modesto San Francisco 92 mi · 1 h 55 min
Oakland San Francisco 11 mi · 24 min
Riverside Los Angeles 63 mi · 1 h 19 min
Sacramento San Francisco 88 mi · 1 h 50 min
San Jose San Francisco 50 mi · 1 h 5 min
Santa Ana Los Angeles 41 mi · 53 min
Santa Barbara Los Angeles 93 mi · 1 h 56 min
Stockton San Francisco 83 mi · 1 h 44 min

Distances are road distances at posted speed limits and without traffic, so a real journey takes longer.

What you can settle without travelling

Before working out the journey, check whether the office is involved at all.

  • Order a German birth, marriage or death certificate: the registry office of the German town where it happened issues it, and most of them take an online or postal request
  • Get a certificate of conduct: the Federal Office of Justice handles it; any US notary public can notarize your signature on the form
  • Get a document apostilled: for a US document it is the Secretary of State of the issuing state; no German mission can do it

Booking with the wrong one wastes the appointment, so check your county before you book rather than going by which city is nearer.

This is an independent directory of German consular offices in the United States. It is not operated by the Federal Foreign Office or by any German mission. Fees, opening hours and requirements change: always confirm them with the office before you travel.

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