For teaching abroad, foreign job offers, graduate school and professional licensing. $190 per document, 5 business days. Serving Brandon and the USF corridor.
Diplomas and transcripts are the second most common apostille we handle, and the one most often tied to a hard deadline — a contract start date, a visa appointment, a university enrollment window. Foreign employers, ministries of education and licensing boards will not recognise a U.S. credential until the apostille is attached.
Here's the part that trips people up: a diploma isn't a public record, so it can't be apostilled as-is. It has to be notarised first — either by a school registrar whose signature is on file, or through a notarised copy certification or a registrar's affidavit. We're Florida-commissioned notaries, so we handle that step and the apostille in a single pass. For Brandon clients that's one handoff, one fee, and the document back in 5 business days.
TEFL and TESOL placements in Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam, Spain and the UAE require an apostilled degree and, almost always, a background check alongside it.
Employers in the Gulf, Europe and Asia verify credentials through the apostille before a work permit will be issued.
Foreign universities want an apostilled diploma and transcript as part of the admissions file, often before the application is even reviewed.
Nurses, engineers, teachers and physicians seeking to practise abroad must present apostilled credentials to the foreign licensing authority.
Foreign evaluation bodies increasingly require the apostille before they will assess a U.S. degree for equivalency.
Exchange placements and scholarship programs routinely ask for apostilled academic records as part of the visa packet.
Brandon counts roughly 115,000 people and stands one of the largest unincorporated communities in Florida. Brandon's growth over the last two decades has brought a genuinely international population east of Tampa — substantial Puerto Rican, Indian, Filipino and Colombian communities, plus a large share of households with family and property ties overseas. That mix shows up in our casework as birth certificates for citizenship by descent, marriage certificates for spousal visas, and powers of attorney sent to family handling property abroad.
Clients come to us from across Brandon — Bloomingdale, Brandon Valrico, Providence Lakes, Heather Lakes and Lakewood Ridge among them. Landmarks like Westfield Brandon, Brandon Regional Hospital and the Bloomingdale corridor put us on familiar ground — this is local service, not a mail-order processor.
From Brandon, our Tampa Westshore office is about 25 minutes away — book a time and the slot is held for you when you arrive. The same service runs to Valrico, Riverview and Tampa just up the road.
Documents leaving Brandon most often head to Puerto Rico, India, the Philippines, Colombia and the United Kingdom. Brandon's Indian and Filipino communities send a steady stream of degree and background-check authentications for overseas licensing, alongside birth records for citizenship applications.
Brandon clients reach the Westshore office along the Selmon or I-4; book ahead and the slot is waiting when you arrive. 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.
A diploma or transcript needs a notarised element before Florida can apostille it. There are three routes: the school registrar signs and has their signature notarised; a Florida notary performs a copy certification of the original; or the registrar issues a notarised affidavit attesting to the credential. Which one works depends on the receiving country and, sometimes, on the school. Sealed transcripts sent directly from the registrar in a signed, notarised envelope are the cleanest option when the destination accepts them.
Graduated from the University of South Florida, the University of Tampa, Hillsborough Community College, Florida Southern College or Saint Leo? All of these are routine for us. Graduated out of state? The notarisation has to happen in the state where the notary is commissioned, and the apostille follows from that state — but if you're in Florida with the original in hand, we can often handle the copy certification here. Bring it to our Westshore office — about 25 minutes from Brandon — or book a booked appointment.
We work by appointment, which means no queue and no wasted trip. Ring us and we'll confirm a time within the hour.
We check that what you have is actually apostillable — certified copy, correct seal, complete notarization — and that it matches what the receiving country asks for.
A person carries your document to the state counter in Tallahassee. That single decision is what removes the multi-week postal queue from the timeline.
Your originals come back apostilled inside 5 business days, available for collection at the office, with a call the moment they arrive.
One flat number, nothing bolted on afterward. What we quote is what you pay, and the Florida Department of State's filing fee is already inside it.
Every price covers the $10-per-document Florida Department of State filing fee, in-person submission at the state counter, and complete document handling. If your paperwork needs notarization first, we offer that as a separate add-on service.
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.
Yes — we work by appointment only, which is deliberate: it means no queue when you arrive and no wasted trip from Brandon. Ring us and we'll confirm a time inside one business hour.
We're at 4830 W Kennedy Blvd, Suite 633K in Tampa's Westshore district — about 25 minutes away from Brandon. Book a time and we'll have it held when you arrive.
No. Every city we cover runs on the same 5-business-day schedule, because the document is hand-filed in Tallahassee regardless of where it was collected. If your deadline is shorter than that, call — we'll tell you plainly whether rush handling can meet it.
Yes — a diploma is not a public record, so a notarised signature has to exist on it or alongside it before the Department of State can act. We're Florida-commissioned notaries and handle that step with the apostille in one visit.
Straightforward. Either the registrar's office signs and notarises, or we perform a notarised copy certification of your original diploma. Both routes are common with Tampa Bay institutions and both reach the same result — bring the original and we'll advise on the spot.
Often, yes. If we notarise a copy certification here in Florida, the Florida apostille attaches to that Florida notarisation. Some countries insist the apostille come from the state that issued the degree — check with the receiving authority, and tell us what they say.
It depends entirely on who's asking. Employers and licensing boards usually want the diploma; universities almost always want the transcript as well. When in doubt, do both — the two-document bundle at $300 is cheaper than coming back for the second one later.
Yes. High school diplomas and transcripts follow the same route as university credentials, and they come up regularly for students enrolling in foreign universities or families relocating overseas.
The office that issues the apostille itself.
USF Office of the RegistrarTranscript and credential requests for USF graduates.
Florida Department of EducationState-level education records and credential information.
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.
On a deadline? Call and we'll confirm a Brandon appointment within one business hour.
