Procedure for Notarial or Apostille Certification:

The Secretary of State will Apostille or recognize the commission of a Florida notary or a Florida elected official for the following documents:

**NOTE:

CERTIFICATION FEES:

****DO NOT SEND CASH****

***WE CANNOT ACCEPT INCORRECT FEES OR PAYMENT FOR ADDITIONAL POSTAGE***

Please note that checks or money orders, MADE PAYABLE TO: DEPARTMENT OF STATE, are the only acceptable forms of payment to this office.

The fee for a notarial or apostille certification by the Secretary of State is $10 per notarized document.

The fee for apostille certification of ORIGINAL certified copies of documents, such as a marriage license or a divorce document, obtained from the Clerk of Circuit Court are $20 per document. **You must contact the Clerk of Circuit Court to obtain these documents as we do not provide them**

Certified copies of ORIGINAL birth/death/marriage records obtained from THE BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS in Jacksonville, Florida that are signed by THE STATE REGISTRAR (the current State Registrar is Ken Jones) are $10 per document. **** Please note that records obtained from local health departments are NOT ACCEPTABLE.****

PROCESSING TIME:

The processing time varies dependent upon the volume of work received and the resources available. We advise you to allow at least five (5) working/business days (Monday through Friday) for processing. Requests are completed in the date order they are received. We do not offer expedited services.

PROCEDURES:

Please follow these procedures carefully to enable our staff to process your request without delay.

  1. Enclose a cover letter stating the name of the country in which the documents will be used. The country name is needed in order to authenticate the document correctly, whether by Certificate of Notarial Authority or Apostille.
  2. Enclose the required fee. (See "CERTIFICATION FEES" above)
  3. You may enclose a self addressed, stamped envelope for return of the documents. ***If you wish the order to be returned by a courier service, you must enclose a pre-paid air bill with your order that is preaddressed FROM YOU and TO YOU. (No collect or cash on delivery (COD) mail or air bills can be sent from this office.)
  4. If you are using U.S. Mail, please use this address:

    Department of State
    Division of Corporations
    Apostille Certification
    P.O. Box 6800
    Tallahassee, FL 32314-6800

    Note:  When using oversized envelopes, please insure the proper postage is affixed. All postage due envelopes are held in the post office for 4 to 6 weeks before being delivered. **Please address inquiries to the USPS regarding documents being held for additional postage or that have been lost or misdirected after leaving this office**


  5. If you are using a courier service, please use our physical address as courier service packages cannot be delivered to the Post Office Box.

    **NOTE** This is also the address where we are located, if you chose to come in person, where you may wait for your request to be completed. No appointment is necessary.

    Division of Corporations
    Clifton Building, Apostille Section
    2661 Executive Center Circle
    Tallahassee, FL 32301
    Phone: 850-245-6945