Florida Apostille Services

If your document was issued in Florida and needs to be used abroad, it has to be apostilled by the Florida Department of State in Tallahassee. Palm & Seal handles that for you from start to finish, so you don't have to mail originals into a state office and hope they come back right.

We are based in Fort Lauderdale and work with Florida documents every week. Every apostille we have submitted has been accepted.

Who issues apostilles in Florida?

The Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, issues apostilles for Florida documents from its office in Tallahassee. It is the only authority that can apostille a Florida-issued document. Palm & Seal prepares your paperwork, notarizes where required, and submits directly to that office on your behalf.

Which Florida documents can be apostilled?

Common Florida documents we coordinate include:

• Florida birth, marriage, and death certificates (certified copies from the issuing county or the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics)

• Powers of attorney and notarized affidavits

• Single status affidavits

• Diplomas and transcripts from Florida schools

• Florida corporate records, including articles of incorporation and certificates of status

• Background checks

A quick note on vital records: Florida vital records like birth and death certificates have to be certified copies issued by the state or county, not photocopies. If you are not sure whether your copy qualifies, send us a photo through the intake form and we will check before you mail anything.

How long does a Florida apostille take?

Standard service generally runs about five to seven weeks. The Florida Department of State currently processes mailed-in requests in roughly 25 to 35 business days, and we build in time for preparation and tracked return shipping on top of that.

Expedited service generally runs about five to eight business days, using in-person handling at the Tallahassee office instead of the mail queue.

Government processing times can shift with volume, so we confirm your specific timeline before you commit. If you have a hard deadline, tell us up front and we will tell you honestly whether standard or expedited fits.

How much does a Florida apostille cost?

Florida apostille service starts at $245 for a single document on standard timing. Additional documents in the same submission are billed at a lower flat rate, since they travel together, and expedited service is available for an added fee.

Your quote is all-inclusive. It covers our service, notarization where your document originates in Florida, the Florida Department of State fee, and tracked return shipping. The state charges $10 per apostille, or $20 for a clerk-certified copy, and that fee is already built into your quote.

Request a quote and we will give you a firm price and timeline for your document.

Do I have to mail my original document?

For most Florida documents, yes, the state needs the certified original or a properly certified copy. If you are local to South Florida, you can drop your document off with us and pick it up when it is ready, which saves a mailing leg in each direction. For everyone else, we provide clear instructions for getting your document to us safely with tracking.

Why use Palm & Seal for your Florida apostille?

The most common reason a Florida apostille comes back rejected is a document that was not certified correctly before submission, or a copy the state will not accept. We catch that before anything goes to Tallahassee.

You get one person who knows your file, a clear timeline, and a tracked document at the end. For South Florida clients, local drop-off and pickup keeps your originals close to home. Every apostille we have submitted has been accepted, and we intend to keep it that way.