What Documents Can Be Apostilled in Boca Raton?

Any document issued by the State of Florida or notarized by a Florida notary can be apostilled. That covers birth, marriage, death and divorce records, court records, diplomas and transcripts, powers of attorney and affidavits, corporate certificates, vehicle titles, and FDLE background checks. The apostille itself always comes from the Florida Secretary of State in Tallahassee; no office in Boca Raton issues one. What happens in Boca Raton is the part that decides whether the state accepts the document: getting the right copy, with the right signature, and the right notarization where one is needed. That is what we do. The price is $275 for the first document and $125 for each additional one, with turnaround of 2, 3 to 5, or 6 to 8 business days. Order online or call 800-208-2128.

Almost all Florida documents can be apostilled; below is the list by group. The group matters more than the document name, because each group has one rule about what the state will accept.

Group 1: records issued by the State of Florida

These are apostilled on the issuing agency's certification. Nothing in this group is ever notarized, and a Florida notary is not allowed to attest to a copy of any of them.

Birth and death certificates. A certified copy from the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics or a county health department, signed by the State Registrar. Hospital keepsakes, photocopies and older copies get sent back. Our death certificate post covers the version with cause of death.

Marriage and divorce records. A certified copy signed by the State Registrar or by the Clerk of Court in the county where the license or the case was filed. The decorative marriage certificate from the ceremony does not count.

Court records. Final judgments, custody and adoption orders, probate papers, name-change orders: a certified copy from the Clerk of Court with the clerk's stamp and seal. Our court documents post explains the two different divorce documents.

Corporate certificates from the Division of Corporations. Certificates of status (good standing) and state-certified copies of articles of incorporation, as originally issued by the Division. A printout from Sunbiz is not a certified copy.

Vehicle titles. Certified by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

FDLE criminal background checks. Issued by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. These are Florida documents and go to Tallahassee. An FBI report is not; see Group 3.

Public school and university transcripts. Issued and signed by the school registrar with a full notarial statement, which the school's own notary usually provides. Some schools will only release a transcript sealed; our diploma and transcript page explains how we handle that.

Group 2: private documents that need a Florida notarization

These are apostilled on the notary's signature, so the notarization has to be done to the Secretary of State's standard: a complete notarial certificate, in English, with the notary's stamp and every space filled. This group is where most rejections happen, and it is why we notarize these ourselves rather than sending you to a counter.

Powers of attorney and affidavits. Signed in front of a Florida notary, in person or by video through Remote Online Notarization.

Diplomas and private-school transcripts. A copy attested by a Florida notary, signed by the student or by the school as custodian of the record. Before you take this route, confirm that the university or agency receiving the document accepts a copy certified on the holder's own notarized statement. Some require the school's registrar to sign and notarize it instead, and if that is the case the document has to go back to the school first.

Authorization letters, consent letters, and declarations. Travel consent for a minor, authorization for a relative to act abroad, single-status declarations for a marriage overseas.

Bank and financial letters. Bank verification letters, account letters and reference letters, signed by the bank officer and notarized.

Internal company documents. Resolutions, certificates of incumbency, operating agreements, bylaws, commercial invoices and letters of authorization, signed by an officer and notarized. These are different from the Division of Corporations certificates in Group 1.

Translations. A certified translation carries the translator's signed statement, which is notarized and then apostilled with the document it translates. We provide the translation and the notarization together.

Copies of a passport or driver license. Prepared with a notarized statement and apostilled on that notarization.

Group 3: federal documents

FBI background checks, IRS transcripts and letters, federal court orders, and anything else issued by a federal agency cannot be apostilled by the State of Florida. They go through the U.S. Department of State. We handle them at $275 per document; standard federal processing runs 4 to 6 weeks, expedited about 10 to 12 business days for an additional $150, and they are not eligible for 2-Day Express. Our FBI background check page has the details.

What cannot be apostilled in Florida

A document issued by another state. It is apostilled by the state that issued it, and we route it there; the base price is the same, and additional charges may apply depending on the state.

A document issued in another country. An apostille is issued where the document came from, so a foreign birth certificate or diploma has to be apostilled in that country; the Florida process does not apply.

A photocopy of a public record. A copy of a birth certificate, a court order or a transcript cannot be notarized in Florida and will not be apostilled. The certified copy from the issuing agency is the only route.

A document with a bad notarization. Missing certificate, blank spaces, a stamp with no wording, a name that does not match the ID: the state rejects it, and it goes back to be notarized again. We check every notarization before submission, and when a document still needs to be notarized, we notarize it ourselves so it is done to the state's standard.

What we see most in Boca Raton

Our orders from Boca Raton and the rest of Palm Beach and Broward counties are mostly birth certificates, diplomas and transcripts, powers of attorney, marriage and death certificates, FBI and FDLE background checks, bank letters, and corporate documents, going to Spain, Colombia, Italy, France, Brazil, Romania, Israel and a long list of other countries. If your document is not named above, it almost certainly falls into one of the three groups, and the full list of document types is on our services page. Upload a scan through the order form and we tell you which copy you need before you send anything.

How the order works

Place the order online and upload a scan through the secure uploader, or reply to the confirmation email with it. We review it and tell you if anything needs to be reordered or notarized. Then the original comes to us: drop it off at our Boca Raton office, mail it, or choose on-site service and we pick it up, and notarize on the spot if the document needs it. The 2, 3-to-5, or 6-to-8 business days count from the day the original arrives and passes review. Documents are hand-delivered to the Secretary of State in Tallahassee, which is where the 2-day turnaround comes from. Shipping inside the United States is included both ways; international return shipping is billed by destination. 2-Day Express is available for Florida documents going to Hague Convention countries, submitted before 12pm EST, and adds $255.

Ready to order

$275 for the first document, $125 for each additional one, notarization from $100 when a document needs it. Order online or call 800-208-2128, Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm EST.