Types of Documents That Can Be Apostilled
- State of Florida birth or death certificates
- Florida marriage certificates or divorce decrees
- Diplomas and transcripts
- Florida vehicle titles
- FBI reports and background checks
- Powers of attorney
- Trademarks
- Warrants
- Treaties and agreements
- Extraditions
- Company bylaws
- Document notarized by a Florida notary public
Additional Caveats
Aside from this general list, there are a few additional rules and caveats that people requesting an apostille should be aware of. Any vital records should be obtained via the office of vital records and include a signature made by hand.
Certain certificates, like birth and marriage, are not required to be notarized but must include a seal and signature. For documents issued by court clerks and Florida state officials, the Florida Secretary of State can also approve an apostille.
What does the apostille process usually entail?
Tto utilize our apostille services in Florida, we ask that you mail all original documents to our office; FedEx, UPS, or 2-day US Postal Service packages are preferred. You will need to include a return label along with the documents to be apostilled. Prior to sending your papers to be processed by the competent authority, we will examine them to look for necessary and accurate notarial stamps or clerk signatures.
We provide this pre-screening step to ensure that the documents are likely to be approved for authentication once they reach the Secretary of State and that there are no delays in the processing of your documents. Denials and returned documentation can cost you time and money, which is why we make sure everything is in order before forwarding your request to the Department of State.
You may begin the apostille request process through walk-in services in the Department’s Tallahassee office or by mailing the necessary documentation to the Department of State. On average, the request process for apostilles takes up to two months, from the time you make the request to when you receive the completed documents. However, our Florida apostille experts make daily trips to the Secretary of State’s office. This means that our clients can expect short turnaround times in addition to stellar customer service and fair prices.
We know that you don’t always have the luxury of time when international travel is involved. Our turnaround time for approvals is approximately 24-48 hours due to our close proximity to the Department of State and thanks to the professional relationship we’ve maintained with them for the last 30 years. When you allow us to take care of your apostille request, you will have your completed documents back in your hands within two or three days after we receive them. We are happy to handle all of the necessary steps to remove the guesswork from this process and provide peace of mind to our Florida apostille clients.
