For foreign probate, estate transfers, insurance claims and repatriation. $190 per certificate, 5 business days. Handled carefully, and quickly, for families in Lutz.
When someone dies holding property, accounts, a pension or family abroad, the foreign institution handling the estate will ask for a death certificate it can verify. That means a certified Florida death certificate with an apostille attached — and usually on a timeline set by a court or an insurer rather than by the family.
We handle these with the priority they deserve. Certified copies come from the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics or the county health department where the death was registered. We review the copy, confirm whether the destination needs the version with or without cause of death, file it in person in Tallahassee, and return it within 5 business days. For Lutz families, we hold appointments open so nobody is left waiting during a difficult week.
Foreign probate courts require an apostilled death certificate before an estate held in that country can be opened or distributed.
Transferring or selling real estate held overseas by the deceased runs through the apostilled certificate and, often, a related power of attorney.
Returning remains to another country requires an apostilled death certificate alongside the consular and transit paperwork.
Life insurers and annuity providers outside the U.S. will not release funds without a death certificate they can authenticate.
Foreign pension systems and social insurance agencies require proof of death in apostilled form before adjusting or paying survivor benefits.
Many countries require a citizen's death to be recorded in their own civil registry, which means submitting the apostilled U.S. certificate.
Lutz is home to roughly 24,000 people, spanning the Hillsborough and Pasco county line. Lutz sits at the affluent northern edge of Hillsborough County, and its households skew toward executives, physicians and business owners — the profile that generates corporate apostilles, powers of attorney for foreign property, and diploma authentications for professional licensing overseas. It is also one of the strongest sources of apostille search demand in the county's northern tier.
We serve clients throughout Lutz's neighborhoods including Cheval, Van Dyke Farms, Lake Fern, Sunset Lakes and Ladera. the Suncoast Parkway corridor, Cheval Golf & Country Club and Lake Park are part of the everyday geography here, and we work it in person rather than by post.
From Lutz, our Tampa Westshore office is about 25 minutes away — book a time and the slot is held for you when you arrive. Clients in Northdale, Carrollwood and Wesley Chapel come to us for the same death certificate apostille work.
Documents leaving Lutz most often head to Italy, Ireland, Switzerland, Canada and the United Kingdom. Executive and professional households here mostly need corporate records, foreign property powers of attorney, and diploma authentication for licensing bodies abroad.
Coming down Dale Mabry or the Suncoast puts Lutz clients at the office in well under half an hour; call ahead and we'll hold the time. Whichever route you take, the document is filed in person at the Florida Department of State rather than mailed, which is what holds the return to 5 business days.
The Department of State accepts a certified copy issued by the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics or the county health department where the death was registered, bearing the registrar's seal and signature. Funeral home copies, hospital paperwork and photocopies do not qualify. Florida issues two versions — one showing cause of death and one without — and access to the cause-of-death version is restricted for the first fifty years to the spouse, parent, child, sibling, or a legal representative of the estate.
Which version you need depends on the destination. Foreign probate courts and insurers often require cause of death; civil registry updates and pension offices usually do not. We'll ask before anything is filed, because ordering the wrong one costs a week. Bring the certified copy to our Westshore office — about 25 minutes from Lutz — at a time we hold for you.
Appointments are confirmed inside one business hour, not the next day. Tell us roughly when suits and we'll fit you in.
We read the document before it travels. Wrong seal, missing notarial wording, a certificate the state won't accept — we catch it here, where fixing it costs nothing.
Your paperwork goes to the Department of State counter in a person's hands, not an envelope. That's the whole reason the timeline is five days instead of several weeks.
Apostilled originals are ready in 5 business days at the Westshore office, and we call as soon as they land.
A single figure per document, with the Florida Department of State's fee already included. Bundles bring the per-document rate down from there.
Filing fees are not extra: the state's $10 per document is already inside these numbers, as is in-person submission and the handling either side of it. Notarization is available as an add-on where required.
Grab the Apostille and Notarial Certificate Request Form from the Florida Department of State here. There's no need to fill it out ahead of time — we'll complete it with you at your appointment.
Call or send a request and we'll hold a time at the Tampa Westshore office. Appointments are confirmed within one business hour, so you'll know your slot the same day rather than waiting on a callback.
Ours, at 4830 W Kennedy Blvd, Suite 633K in Tampa's Westshore district — about 25 minutes away away. Appointments only, confirmed within one business hour of your request.
Five business days from the moment we take the document to the moment it's back apostilled. That figure doesn't change with distance — Lutz runs on the same in-person filing schedule as everywhere else we serve. On a tighter deadline, call and we'll tell you honestly what's achievable.
The version without cause of death is a public record and anyone may order it. The cause-of-death version is restricted for fifty years to the decedent's spouse, parent, child or sibling, or to a legal representative of the estate or of one of those family members.
Foreign probate courts and insurance companies commonly require the cause-of-death version. Civil registry updates, pension offices and property transfers usually accept the version without it. Tell us the destination and what's being filed, and we'll confirm before you order.
Yes — this is a routine situation for us. We can coordinate the certified copy, handle the apostille, and arrange international shipping of the completed document. Everything can be arranged by phone and email from wherever you are.
Usually. The apostille form is multilingual, but the death certificate underneath is in English, and most foreign probate courts require a certified translation into the local language. We coordinate that alongside the apostille.
Yes, provided you have a currently issued certified copy. Age of the death isn't the issue; what matters is that the copy in hand carries a current registrar's seal and signature that the Department of State can verify.
Order certified Florida death certificates.
Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough CountyLocal vital records office for deaths registered in the county.
Florida Department of StateThe office that issues the apostille itself.
One flat rate, volume bundles, and the few things that add cost.
Processing timeThe 5-day timeline vs the mail-in queue.
Same-day & rush serviceA straight answer on what a tight deadline allows.
Booking an appointmentHow office visits work, and what to bring.
We move quickly on estate matters — call and we'll confirm a Lutz appointment within one business hour.
