Where to Authenticate Court Documents in South Florida

A Florida court document is authenticated for use abroad with an apostille from the Florida Secretary of State in Tallahassee, issued on a certified copy from the Clerk of Court in the county where the case was filed. No court in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach County issues apostilles, and no notary can help; a document filed in a court proceeding cannot be notarized in Florida. We are in Boca Raton. We review the certified copy, hand-deliver it to the Secretary of State, and return it with the apostille in 2 business days with Express, 3 to 5 with Regular Express, or 6 to 8 with Standard. The price is $275 for the first document and $125 for each additional one. Order online or call 800-208-2128.

The rest of this page covers what counts as a court document, how to apostille court documents from a Florida court, the divorce-record trap, federal court records, and how the order runs.

What counts as a court document

Anything a Florida circuit or county court filed or issued: a final judgment of dissolution of marriage, a custody or parenting order, an adoption order, a name-change order, letters of administration or other probate papers, a civil judgment, a guardianship order. Documents recorded by the clerk, such as a deed or a recorded power of attorney, fall in the same group.

In our orders, the court document that comes up most is the divorce record, going to countries such as Spain, Romania, Israel, Chile, and Saudi Arabia, usually so someone can remarry, register a change of status, or settle property abroad.

How to apostille court documents from a Florida court

The Secretary of State accepts a certified copy from the Clerk of Circuit Court bearing the clerk's stamp and seal, and issues the apostille on that certification. You get the certified copy from the clerk in the county where the case was heard: the Palm Beach County Clerk, the Broward County Clerk, the Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts, or any other Florida county clerk. Most clerks issue certified copies in person and by mail, and several take online requests. Ask for a certified copy, not a plain copy.

If you cannot get to the clerk, we can usually order the certified copy for you as part of the job. Tell us the county and the case number on the order form.

The divorce-record trap

Two different documents can prove a Florida divorce, and foreign agencies do not always accept both.

The first is the final judgment of dissolution of marriage, the court's own order, certified by the Clerk of Court. This is what most countries mean when they ask for the divorce decree, and it is the only document that shows the terms of the divorce.

The second is the dissolution of marriage record issued by the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics, a one-page state record signed by the State Registrar that confirms the divorce happened and when. Both can be apostilled. Before you order either one, look at what the agency abroad has asked for. If the request says decree, judgment, or sentencia, order the certified judgment from the clerk. If it says certificate of divorce, the state record may be what they want. When you are not sure, upload the request letter with your order and we will tell you which one to get.

What gets court documents rejected

A copy that is not certified by the clerk. The copy your attorney mailed you, a printout from the e-filing portal, a photocopy of the certified copy: none of these carry the clerk's certification and none will be apostilled.

A notarized copy. Someone takes the judgment to a notary, has a copy notarized, and sends it in. Florida notaries cannot attest to documents filed in a court proceeding, so the notarization is invalid and the document is rejected. Court documents are never notarized.

A federal record sent to Tallahassee. Orders from a U.S. District Court or a U.S. Bankruptcy Court are federal, and the Florida Secretary of State cannot apostille them. They go through the U.S. Department of State, the same route as an FBI background check apostille, on a different timeline and with a different price.

All three are caught on our review before anything travels.

Federal court documents

If your document came from a federal court, it follows the federal process: $275 per document, standard processing of 4 to 6 weeks, or expedited processing of about 10 to 12 business days for an additional $150. Federal documents are not eligible for 2-Day Express. If your order has both a Florida judgment and a federal order, each runs on its own timeline and we tell you both up front.

Apostille or authentication

If the destination country is a member of the Hague Convention, the document gets an apostille and the process above applies. If it is not, the document needs an authentication, a longer chain that can include the U.S. Department of State and the destination country's embassy. Tell us the destination on the order form and we assess the route and give you a timeline before you pay. If the receiving court or agency wants the document in its own language, we provide certified translation, and it can be done while the apostille is in process.

How the order works from South Florida

You place the order online and receive a confirmation email. Upload a scan of the certified copy through the secure uploader, or reply to the confirmation email with it, and we review it. Then get us the original: drop it off at our Boca Raton office, mail it, or choose on-site service and we pick it up anywhere in Palm Beach, Broward, or Miami-Dade County. When the original arrives and passes review, we submit it, and the 2, 3-to-5, or 6-to-8 business days count from that day. Your document is hand-delivered to the Secretary of State in Tallahassee, not mailed, which is why a 2-day turnaround is possible. Mailing it yourself can take 30 days or more.

Shipping inside the United States is included, both directions. Outside the United States, you arrange shipping to us and we send you a credit card authorization form for the return.

Express, Regular Express, or Standard

Choose 2-Day Express when a court date abroad, a filing deadline, or a travel date is on the calendar. Submit the completed document before 12pm EST on a business day. Express applies to Florida-issued documents going to Hague Convention countries and adds $255. Regular Express, 3 to 5 business days, is the most common choice. Standard, 6 to 8 business days, is for orders with no fixed date. All three count business days, and the times are estimates based on how the Secretary of State's office is running.

Ready to order

A Florida court document apostille is $275 for the first document and $125 for each additional one. Court documents often travel with a marriage certificate or a birth certificate; each gets its own apostille. Order online or call 800-208-2128, Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm EST. If you are not sure the copy you have is the right one, upload it first and we will tell you.