Download it here if you want it in advance — though there is no need to complete it beforehand. We fill it in with you at intake.
The Florida Department of State requires an Apostille and Notarial Certificate Request Form to accompany each submission. It tells the state which document is being authenticated, which country it is destined for, and where the finished certificate should go. It is short, and it is not the difficult part of the process.
You do not need to fill it in before coming to us. We complete it at intake, which avoids the two mistakes that actually cost people time: naming the wrong destination country, and mismatching the form to the document underneath it. Both are trivial to get right across a counter and expensive to get wrong in Tallahassee.
The destination field matters more than it looks. Whether a country is a member of the Hague Convention decides whether you receive an apostille or a certificate of authentication — two different documents with two different downstream processes. Get that wrong and the paperwork comes back unusable rather than merely delayed.
The destination decides apostille versus authentication. Guessing here produces a certificate the receiving authority will not accept.
One form per document, correctly described. A mismatch is a rejection, not a correction.
The form cannot rescue an ineligible document. Seal and signature from the issuing official are non-negotiable.
For signed documents, the notarial certificate must be complete — seal, commission number and expiry included.
Some consulates require the certificate returned to a specific address. Tell us if yours does.
If the receiving authority issued a checklist, it settles the form's details faster than assumption.
Our office is at 4830 W Kennedy Blvd, Suite 633K in Tampa's Westshore district, open Monday to Saturday and run by appointment. Clients travel to us from across Hillsborough plus Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Manatee, Sarasota and Hernando.
Every document is filed in person at the Florida Department of State rather than mailed, which is what holds the return to 5 business days. Spanish-language service is available throughout.
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.
You are told the number before we take the document, and it does not move. The state's per-document filing fee is already counted inside it.
The $10 Florida Department of State fee is built into every price, along with in-person filing and end-to-end handling of the document. Documents that require notarization first can have that added on.
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.
No. Download it if you like, but we complete it with you at intake. That is deliberate — the errors that cost time are on this form, and they are easier to avoid in conversation than in a PDF at home.
The state charges $10 per document, which is already inside our $190. You are not asked for it separately.
One per document. A three-document bundle means three forms, all of which we prepare for you.
Then wait. The country determines whether you get an apostille or an authentication, and filing without it risks the wrong certificate entirely.
You can submit to the state yourself by mail — that is your right, and the fee is $10. Expect several weeks and no diagnosis if it is rejected. Our value is the trip and the review, not the form.
Back to us, then to you — office collection or local delivery. If a consulate requires direct delivery to a specific address, say so at intake and we will note it on the form.
Hillsborough County — our home county, served from the Tampa Westshore office by appointment.
Greater Tampa Bay — clients travel to us from Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Manatee, Sarasota and Hernando counties; book ahead and we'll hold a time.
The office that issues the apostille itself.
Hillsborough County Clerk of CourtCertified copies of local court and marriage records.
Florida Bureau of Vital StatisticsOrder certified Florida vital records.
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 complete the state's form with you at your appointment. Call to book a time.
