Florida issues every one of its apostilles from a single counter. Not one per county, not one per major city — one, at the Division of Corporations in Tallahassee. Whether your document was signed in Miami, Jacksonville, Orlando or Key West, it has to reach that office before it can be used abroad. Our Tallahassee team walks documents into that building by hand.
The Florida Secretary of State is the only competent authority permitted to issue apostilles and notarial certifications for Florida documents, and the Division of Corporations does the issuing at 2415 N. Monroe Street. The Department publishes no expedited tier. In-person submission is the fast lane, and most walk-in requests are completed while you wait. Everything else goes into the mail queue and is processed in the order received.
What Florida can and cannot certify
Florida certifies documents that were issued in Florida or notarized by a commissioned Florida notary. That boundary is absolute. A document notarized in Georgia goes to Georgia even if the signer lives in Tampa. Federal records — FBI Identity History Summaries, Certificates of Naturalization, IRS letters, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad — never touch the Florida counter, regardless of where the holder lives; those go to the U.S. Department of State in Washington. If you are weighing which applies, our guide to federal versus state apostilles sorts it out by document type.
The destination country decides the certificate you receive. Countries in the 1961 Hague Convention get an apostille. Everyone else gets a notarial certification, followed by legalization at that country's embassy. Our country guide lists which is which.
Requirements by Florida document type
Nearly every Florida rejection comes down to the underlying document rather than the request form. These are the state's own requirements, document by document.
Birth and death certificates $10
The certificate must come from the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics signed by the State Registrar, or from a County Health Department and still signed by the State Registrar. The Division verifies that the State Registrar's signature was valid on the date of issuance, which is why older certificates are turned away even when they look pristine. Birth records issued before 2004 carry limited information and some consulates will not accept them; death records from 2009 forward are available. A notary cannot certify a copy of either — Florida law forbids it, so the only path is a fresh certified copy from the issuing authority.
Marriage and dissolution of marriage certificates $10 or $20
Two sources are accepted: the Bureau of Vital Statistics signed by the State Registrar, or the Clerk of the County Courts. The source you choose changes the price. Anything certified by a Florida Clerk of the Court carries a $20 apostille fee rather than $10, because the state adds a Certificate of Incumbency to verify the clerk's authority. If the couple has a choice of source — and for marriage records they usually do — the Vital Statistics copy is the cheaper route.
Court records, divorce decrees and clerk-recorded documents $20
Circuit court and county clerk documents must bear the clerk's stamp and seal, obtained directly from the Clerk of Circuit Court in the county of record. The Division does not order these for you. The $20 fee applies to each of them.
School transcripts and diplomas $10
Public school or university: submit a notarized transcript signed by the school registrar or another issuing official, carrying a full notarial statement. Private school or university: submit a printed, notarized transcript attesting that it is a copy, signed by the student or the records custodian, again with a full notarial statement. A transcript that simply arrives in a sealed school envelope, with no notarization, cannot be apostilled.
Vehicle titles $10
The title must be certified by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Their certification fee is separate from the apostille fee.
Notarized documents — powers of attorney, affidavits, consent letters $10
This is the largest category and the one that fails most often. The document needs a full notarial statement, written in English, with the Florida notary's original signature, stamp and seal. Photocopies are refused. The Division checks the notary's commission number, name and expiration date against the state's notary database, so a lapsed commission or a mismatched name stops the filing cold.
Corporate records and certificates of status $10 + certification fee
Submit the original certified copy or certificate of status previously issued by the Division — not a photocopy — or order the certificate and the apostille together. If you order them together, the fees must be paid with two separate checks or money orders: one for the certification, one for the $10 apostille.
Criminal background checks $10
State-level checks from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and from local law enforcement agencies are accepted. An FBI Identity History Summary is a federal document and is not — that one goes to Washington.
What a Florida notary may not certify
Chapter 117 of the Florida Statutes bars a notary from attesting copies of public records. That rule quietly voids a large share of do-it-yourself submissions, because the natural instinct is to have a notary certify a photocopy of whatever you already have. It cannot be done for:
- Birth, death and marriage certificates
- Certificates of citizenship or naturalization
- Documents filed in a court proceeding or recorded by the Clerk of the Court
- Federal or state income tax forms already filed
- Professional licenses issued by the State of Florida
- Student records kept by public education offices
- Public records maintained in government offices, and any document for which photocopying is prohibited
For every item on that list, the fix is the same: request a certified copy from the office that issued it. We can order certified copies on your behalf so the document arrives in a form the counter will accept.
Fees, payment and the Tallahassee counter
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Standard document | $10 per document |
| Clerk of Court certified document | $20 per document ($10 apostille + $10 Certificate of Incumbency) |
| Accepted payment | Check or money order payable to the Florida Department of State, U.S. currency drawn on a U.S. bank |
| Not accepted | Cash and credit cards, including at the counter |
| Issuing office | Division of Corporations, 2415 N. Monroe Street, Suite 810, Tallahassee |
| Counter hours | Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., excluding state holidays |
The payment rule sends more people home than any other. There is no card reader at that counter — a check or money order is the only way to pay, in person or by mail. Requests also need the Department's Apostille and Notarial Certificate Request Form, the destination country named on it, and a self-addressed stamped envelope or prepaid air bill with the requestor listed as both sender and recipient.
Our Tallahassee office is at 113 S Monroe Street, minutes from the Division of Corporations. Ship your document to us or drop it off locally, and we file it at the counter in person rather than placing it in the mail queue. We also notarize, translate and handle federal apostilles through our Washington office from the same order.
When Florida is only the first step
If the destination country is outside the Hague Convention — the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan and others — the Florida certification is stage one of three. The document then needs a federal authentication certificate from the U.S. Department of State, followed by legalization at that country's embassy in Washington. Submitting to a later stage before the earlier one is finished gets the package returned untouched. Our embassy legalization guide maps the chain country by country, and running all three stages from one order is the difference between weeks and months.
Many consulates also require a certified translation attached before the document is accepted. Note the state's own rule here: the person who translates a document cannot be the person who notarizes it. Our translation requirements page covers the formats that hold up.
Common questions about Florida apostilles
Can I get a Florida apostille in Miami, Orlando or Jacksonville?
No. Apostilles for the State of Florida are issued only at the Division of Corporations in Tallahassee. No county clerk, notary or other state agency can issue one. Documents from anywhere in Florida must reach that office, which is why in-person filing services are based in Tallahassee.
How fast is a Florida apostille?
The Department offers no paid expedite. Walk-in submission is the fast channel, and most requests are completed while the filer waits at the counter. Mailed requests are processed in the order received, so the timeline depends on the current queue. Add shipping in both directions for a mailed request.
Can I pay the Florida apostille fee with a card?
No. The Department accepts only checks and money orders payable to the Florida Department of State, drawn in U.S. currency on a U.S. bank. Cash and credit cards are not accepted, including in person. When we file on your behalf we issue the instrument, so this is not something you need to arrange.
Why is my marriage certificate $20 instead of $10?
Because it was certified by a Florida Clerk of the Court. Those documents require a Certificate of Incumbency verifying the clerk's authority, which adds $10 to the $10 apostille fee. A marriage certificate obtained from the Bureau of Vital Statistics and signed by the State Registrar is $10.
Can a notary certify a copy of my Florida birth certificate?
No. Chapter 117 of the Florida Statutes prohibits a notary from attesting copies of public records, and birth certificates are explicitly named. You need a certified copy from the Bureau of Vital Statistics or a County Health Department bearing the State Registrar's signature.
My document was notarized in another state. Can Florida still apostille it?
No. Florida certifies only documents issued in Florida or notarized by a Florida notary. A document notarized elsewhere goes to that state's competent authority. We file in all fifty states, so you can send it to us either way.
How many documents can I submit at once?
The state publishes no limit. In practice a large batch may be accepted for processing rather than completed while you wait, which turns a same-day visit into a return trip. We file in volume regularly and plan batches around that.
Florida documents, filed in Tallahassee
Send us the document and the destination country. We confirm it is in acceptable form before anything is filed, quote the exact total, and walk it to the counter.
Start a Florida order See our Tallahassee officeCall (760) 469-2997 or email submissions@federalapostille.org. Tallahassee: 113 S Monroe Street, 1st Floor, Tallahassee, FL 32301.
