For foreign probate, estate transfers, insurance claims and repatriation. $190 per certificate, 5 business days. Handled carefully, and quickly, for families in Tampa.
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 Tampa 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.
Tampa is home to roughly 400,000 people, the anchor of a metro of just over three million people. Tampa is one of the most internationally connected cities in Florida. Ybor City's Cuban and Spanish roots run straight through the city's identity, and the modern population layers on large Puerto Rican, Colombian, Venezuelan, Mexican, Indian, Vietnamese and Filipino communities. Add the Port of Tampa Bay, MacDill Air Force Base, a busy international airport, and a professional class with business interests across Latin America and Europe, and the apostille demand is constant: birth certificates for dual citizenship, corporate records for cross-border deals, powers of attorney for property held abroad, and background checks for overseas work visas.
Across Tampa we handle documents for residents of Hyde Park, Ybor City, Westshore, Seminole Heights, South Tampa, Davis Islands, New Tampa and Channelside. Landmarks like the Tampa Riverwalk, Water Street, Tampa International Airport, Amalie Arena and the Port of Tampa Bay put us on familiar ground — this is local service, not a mail-order processor.
The Westshore office is minutes away from Tampa. Appointments are confirmed within one business hour, so the drive is never wasted. Clients in Town 'n' Country, Temple Terrace and Brandon come to us for the same death certificate apostille work.
Documents leaving Tampa most often head to Spain, Colombia, Venezuela, Italy, India and the Philippines. Ybor City's Cuban and Spanish lineage still drives citizenship-by-descent files, while Water Street's professional class generates corporate records and powers of attorney for deals across Latin America and Europe.
Being in the city itself, we can usually hold a same-day appointment and still file that week. Downtown and Westshore office workers often come by on a lunch break. 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 — our office is right here in Tampa, on West Kennedy Boulevard in the Westshore district — at a time we hold for you.
You come to West Kennedy Boulevard at a time we've reserved for you. One exchange, and the document is in our hands.
Every document is examined before filing — issuing seal, signature, notarial certificate, and the specific requirements of the country it's headed to.
We present the document at the Florida Department of State in person. Nothing sits in a mailroom, and nothing waits behind a batch of other people's paperwork.
The apostilled original is back and ready to collect at the office. You'll hear from us the moment it's in.
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.
A phone call. We'll confirm an appointment at the Westshore office within one business hour and tell you before you set off from Tampa whether your document actually qualifies.
Ours, at 4830 W Kennedy Blvd, Suite 633K in Tampa's Westshore district — minutes away away. Appointments only, confirmed within one business hour of your request.
Five business days after handoff. The clock is set by the Department of State counter, not by the drive, so Tampa is on the same schedule as the rest of our area. Tight deadline? Ring us and we'll be straight with you about what's possible.
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 Tampa appointment within one business hour.
