Apostille in Miami: Documents, Fees, and Mailing

To get an apostille in Miami, you mail your document to the Florida Secretary of State’s Apostille Section in Tallahassee with a completed request form and a $10 fee per document. No Miami-Dade office issues apostilles, and no walk-in service exists locally. The Secretary of State has sole authority in Florida to issue the certificate, which confirms to authorities in the 129 Hague Convention countries that the Florida signature or notary seal on your document is genuine.¹²

What the Florida Secretary of State Can Apostille

Only documents that originate with a Florida public official or that are notarized by a Florida notary qualify.² That covers:³

Birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates issued by the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics or by a County Health Department, signed by the State Registrar
Records certified by any Florida circuit court or county court clerk
Certificates of status, articles of incorporation, and other filings certified by the Secretary of State
Vehicle titles certified by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
Transcripts and diplomas from Florida schools and universities, with the required notarization
Criminal background checks from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement or a local agency
Any private document notarized by a Florida notary public, such as a power of attorney or affidavit

One trap catches people repeatedly: a vital record signed only by a local county official won’t work. Even a certificate issued through a Miami-Dade office needs the State Registrar’s signature to qualify for an apostille.³

Miami-Dade residents can order certified vital records through the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County, whether online through VitalChek, by phone, by mail, or in person.⁴ When you order, confirm the copy will carry the State Registrar’s signature. Fees the health department charges for the certificate itself are separate from the $10 apostille fee.

Preparing a Private Document

Private documents like powers of attorney, personal affidavits, and contracts carry no official government signature, so a Florida notary has to sign and seal them first. The Secretary of State then verifies the notary’s credentials, and that verification is what the apostille attaches to. The notarial statement must be written in English and must include a full jurat or acknowledgment.³

Under Florida Statute 117.05, the notary must state in the jurat what identification was used to confirm the signer’s identity.⁵ An incomplete notarial statement, whether that means a missing date, a missing ID type, or the wrong kind of seal, is one of the top reasons the Apostille Section sends packages back without processing.

The Request Form, Fee, and Payment

Every submission needs the “Apostille and Notarial Certificate Request Form,” a downloadable PDF from the Division of Corporations.⁶ The form asks for your contact information, whether you need an apostille or a notarial certification, and the country where the document will be used. The country name matters. If you write the wrong destination, the wrong certificate gets issued and you start again.

Fees:⁷

$10 per document for most requests
$20 per document for records certified by a Florida Clerk of the Court: $10 for the apostille and $10 for a Certificate of Incumbency

Florida Statute 15.16 caps the apostille fee at $10; the extra $10 for court records covers the separate incumbency certification the Secretary of State issues for those.² Payment must be a check or money order in U.S. currency drawn on a U.S. bank, payable to “Florida Department of State.” Cash and credit cards are not accepted for mail-in requests.⁶

Where to Mail It

Send the completed form, your original documents, payment, and a return envelope to:

Division of Corporations
ATTN: Apostille Section
P.O. Box 6800
Tallahassee, FL 32314-6800⁶

You must include a pre-stamped, self-addressed envelope, or a prepaid FedEx or UPS airbill, for the return trip. Many Miami residents use a trackable courier both ways. Original vital records or corporate filings that disappear in the mail are far more painful than the extra shipping cost. If you send by courier, use the office’s physical address at 2415 N. Monroe Street, Suite 810, Tallahassee, FL 32303, because couriers cannot deliver to a P.O. box.

How Long It Takes

Once the Apostille Section receives your package, plan on at least five business days of processing, and one to two weeks in busy periods. There is no expedited option through the state office. Add mail time in both directions and the realistic turnaround from Miami is roughly two to three weeks.

Because there is no walk-in apostille service in Miami-Dade, everyone mails to Tallahassee. Applicants under tight deadlines sometimes hire private couriers who hand-carry documents to the Tallahassee office and pick them up when finished, typically at $150 or more.

Why Packages Come Back

The Apostille Section returns submissions unprocessed when something doesn’t check out. The recurring problems:

Incomplete notarization: missing signature, missing seal impression, no date, or no ID type listed in the jurat
Out-of-state notary: a Georgia notary’s seal has to go to the Georgia Secretary of State, not Florida’s
Vital record without the State Registrar’s signature
Errors on the request form, especially the destination country
Wrong fee amount, or cash instead of a check

Every rejection restarts the mailing cycle. Double-checking before sealing the envelope is cheaper than another round trip.

Federal Documents Go Somewhere Else

Federal records cannot receive a Florida apostille. FBI Identity History Summary checks, documents from federal courts, and records from federal agencies all go through the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Authentications in Washington, D.C. The federal fee is $20 per document, and current mail-in processing runs six to eight weeks or longer. Walk-in same-day service is reserved for documented life-or-death emergencies approved in advance; visa deadlines and travel plans don’t qualify.⁸

FBI background checks are the federal document Miami residents most often need apostilled, usually for immigration or work visa purposes. A state-issued apostille on an FBI report is very likely to be rejected abroad. If a service claims it can put a “fast apostille” on your FBI check through the Florida office, treat that as a warning sign.

If the Destination Country Isn’t in the Hague Convention

The apostille only works in the 129 countries that have joined the Hague Apostille Convention.¹ For countries outside the convention, including several nations in the Middle East, parts of Africa, and some Asian countries, you need chain legalization instead. That process runs in a set order: first, authentication by the Florida Secretary of State; second, authentication by the U.S. Department of State; third, legalization at the destination country’s embassy or consulate. Skipping a step or doing them out of order can invalidate the whole chain. Contact the embassy early, because each one sets its own fees and appointment rules.

Translations

Many countries require the document to be translated into the local language before they’ll accept it, even with a valid apostille. The usual approach is to have a professional translator prepare the translation and sign a certification letter attesting to its accuracy. That certification is then notarized by a Florida notary, and the notarized certification can itself receive an apostille.

Before you pay for a translation, ask the destination country’s embassy or consulate what it will accept. Some countries only honor translations done in-country, and some require a sworn translator accredited there. A short call to the consulate can save weeks and a translator’s fee.

1
HCCH. Status Table – Convention 12
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 15.16 – Secretary of State; Fees for Copies and Certification
3
Florida Department of State. Accepted Types of Documents – Division of Corporations
4
Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County. Certificates – Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County
5
Florida Legislature. Florida Code 117.05 – Use of Notary Commission; Unlawful Use; Notary Fee; Seal; Duties
6
Florida Department of State. Apostille and Notarial Certificate Request Form
7
Florida Department of State. Authentications (Apostilles and Notarial Certifications)
8
U.S. Department of State. Requesting Authentication Services