Florida
Florida routes apostilles through the Department of State’s Division of Corporations in Tallahassee, and it distinguishes harder than most states between two paths: apostilles for Hague countries and notarial certifications for everywhere else. Get the destination country wrong on the request form and the document comes back wearing the wrong certificate. We fill it correctly the first time, because we do it every week.
Vital records: certified copies from the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Jacksonville or the county where the event was recorded, with a signature Tallahassee can verify. Hospital keepsakes and photocopies don’t qualify. Florida issues two versions: a death certification without cause of death, which is public record, and a death certificate with cause of death, which only goes to eligible applicants. Which one a foreign recipient wants varies, so check what the receiving side wants before you order.
Notarized documents: Florida sends notarized documents directly to Tallahassee, no county stop. Florida is also one of the states with online notarization widely in use; remote-notarized documents are apostillable, but the notarial certificate has to actually say “online notarization” rather than use standard in-person wording, so send us a scan before assuming yours qualifies.
The destination country field: Florida’s application asks where the document is going and issues the matching certificate. This is the detail that separates Florida from most states, and the one DIY submissions most often get wrong.
Florida charges $10 per apostille for notarized documents (documents certified by a county clerk of court run $20), one of the cheaper state fees. Standard turnaround runs about 3 weeks door to door. If you need it faster, expedited service comes back in 4 to 5 business days. Flat service pricing is on the rates page.
Florida documents travel mostly south: birth and marriage certificates for Latin America, corporate documents for Brazil and Colombia, retirement paperwork for expats, and a steady stream of powers of attorney for property deals from Buenos Aires to Bogotá. Brazil joined the Hague Convention in 2016, so Brazilian cases take apostilles now, not consular legalization; a decade later some Brazilian recipients still ask for the old thing, and we’ll help you push back with the right reference.
How much does a Florida apostille cost?
Florida’s state fee is $10 per document for notarized paperwork, and our flat all-in price is on the rates page.
Why does Florida ask which country my document is going to?
Because it issues an apostille for Hague countries and a notarial certification for non-Hague ones. Wrong country on the form means wrong certificate on your document.
Can you apostille a remotely notarized Florida document?
Yes, Florida pioneered online notarization. Send us the scan first; the notarial certificate wording decides it.
I’m in Miami. Do I have to go to Tallahassee?
No. Nobody does. Mail us the document and we handle Tallahassee entirely.
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