Powers of attorney, affidavits, travel consents and corporate documents — notarized and apostilled in one pass. $190 per document, 5 business days. Serving Ruskin.
This is the broadest category we handle, because it covers anything you sign rather than anything the state issues. A power of attorney letting a relative sell property in Colombia. A single-status affidavit for a wedding in Italy. A consent letter so a child can travel with one parent. A corporate resolution for a subsidiary in Brazil. All of it becomes apostillable the moment a Florida notary signs it.
Because we're Florida-commissioned notaries, the notarisation and the apostille happen in one coordinated pass — you don't go find a notary first and then come to us. We check the wording against what the destination country expects before anything is signed, because a power of attorney that's notarised correctly but drafted wrong is still a wasted trip. Ruskin clients can sign at our Westshore office or have us come to them.
The most common document in this category — authorising a relative or lawyer overseas to buy, sell, manage or inherit property on your behalf.
A sworn statement that you are free to marry, required by foreign civil registries before they will issue a marriage licence to a U.S. citizen.
Notarised consent from the non-travelling parent, apostilled so foreign immigration officers will accept it at the border.
Board resolutions, articles of incorporation, certificates of good standing and signing authorities for foreign subsidiaries and cross-border transactions.
Authorisations to open, access or close accounts held overseas, and to act on foreign investment and brokerage matters.
Sworn statements of support, residence, identity, income or relationship required by foreign courts, consulates and government agencies.
Ruskin counts roughly 25,000 people and stands the heart of the SouthShore area. Ruskin and the wider SouthShore area combine long-established agricultural families — many with roots in Mexico and Central America — with a fast-arriving wave of retirees and relocating households. The result is a distinctive apostille mix: Spanish-language birth and marriage records heading to Latin American consulates alongside estate and probate documents bound for Europe and Canada.
Across Ruskin we handle documents for residents of Little Harbor, Bahia Beach, Cypress Creek and Mira Lago. We know the ground around E.G. Simmons Conservation Park, Little Harbor and the SouthShore corridor. That matters more than it sounds: this is a local service, not a mail-in processor.
Our office sits about 35 minutes away from Ruskin. We work by appointment, which means no queue at the counter when you get here. The same service runs to Riverview, Tampa and Bradenton just up the road.
Documents leaving Ruskin most often head to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Canada and the United Kingdom. SouthShore produces an unusual pairing: Spanish-language vital records and single-status affidavits headed to Latin American consulates, alongside estate and probate documents from retirees with property in Europe and Canada.
SouthShore clients usually book a morning slot and pair the trip with other business in Tampa; a day's notice gives the widest choice of times. 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.
For a signed document, what the Department of State authenticates is the notary's commission — so the notarisation has to be complete and correct. That means a Florida notary's seal, signature, commission number and expiry, the correct notarial wording (acknowledgment or jurat, depending on the document), and the signer present with valid photo identification. Any of those missing and it comes back.
We can notarise and apostille in the same appointment, including remote online notarisation when signers are elsewhere. If the document was already notarised by someone else, we'll apostille it — after checking the notarial certificate, because a surprising number of otherwise fine documents fail on an incomplete acknowledgment. Documents in Spanish or Portuguese are no obstacle. Come to our Westshore office — about 35 minutes from Ruskin — or book mobile notarisation and filing in the same visit.
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.
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 Ruskin whether your document actually qualifies.
Ours, at 4830 W Kennedy Blvd, Suite 633K in Tampa's Westshore district — about 35 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 — Ruskin 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.
Yes — that's the normal way we handle this category. We're Florida-commissioned notaries, so you sign in front of us and the document goes straight into the apostille queue. One appointment, one fee, no hunting for a notary first.
Yes. Spanish and Portuguese documents are routine for us — Tampa Bay generates a constant flow of poderes notariales bound for Latin America and Spain. The notarial certificate itself will be in English, which is what the Department of State authenticates, and that is accepted everywhere.
Yes, provided the notarisation is complete — seal, signature, commission number, expiry date and correct notarial wording. We check it before filing. If something's missing we'll tell you straight away rather than let it get rejected in Tallahassee.
The signer has to appear before the notary — but that can be in person or by remote online notarisation, which Florida law permits. We handle both. Once notarised, the signer's involvement is finished; nobody needs to be present for the apostille itself.
We can't draft it — that's legal work and we're a document handling service, not a law firm. What we can do is review the wording against what the destination country typically expects and flag problems before you sign. Most clients get the draft from the lawyer or relative abroad who needs it.
The office that issues the apostille itself.
Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz)Certificates of good standing and corporate records.
Florida Notary CommissionsState information on notarial acts and commissions.
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.
Notarisation and apostille in one appointment — call and we'll confirm a Ruskin window within one business hour.
