The Bottom Line

International Documents

by Mary grace rosal-Loftin, northwest Florida paralegal Association

Our legal world has become one where

evidence or legal documents are not acceptable for legal action or business transactions without some form of certification or authentication issued by a business, or a local, State or Government authority. This applies to documents sent from State to State, as well as, international documents going to or coming from another country. For Florida documents, this is done through the Secretary of State, Apostille Section. For international documents, this is done through the Department of State, Office of Authentications. Some things have recently changed. For example, I used to get an Apostille for my signature as a notary through the Florida Secretary of State and this was acceptable in Spain, but the Apostille Section now says that Federal and international documents now require the Apostille to be issued by the Department of State.

Documents from State to State requiring authentication include birth and death certificates, marriage certificates, school transcripts, vehicles titles, county and circuit court documents, judgments and decrees, to name a few. You obtain an “Apostille”, by applying for it by letter to the Florida Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, Bureau of Notaries Public. Or you can complete and print the form online. Go to the Florida Secretary of State website, then search for Authentications (Apostilles and Notarial Certifications) and they have a link there for their form. The fee for each signature to be authenticated is $10.00. Some authentications cost $20.00. You will receive a certificate attached to the original document.

Send your original notarized document with your letter requesting the Apostille and your check in proper amount to:

Department of State, Division of Corporations, Apostille Office, The Centre of Tallahassee, 2415 North Monroe Street, Suite 810, Tallahassee, Florida 32303, or at Post Office Box 6327, Tallahassee, Florida 32314. The telephone for that office is (850) 245-6000.

International documents requiring authentication by the Department of State include birth and death certificates, marriage certificates (for people of different nationalities), local, state and Federal background checks, copies of a passport, driver’s license or a driving record, school transcripts and diplomas for international students, travel consent letters, certificates of naturalization, corporate records and resolutions, Coast Guard Letters and certifications for Agents, court orders issued by Federal courts, etc.

For an apostille to be issued by the Department of State, go to Office of Authentications or Travel.State.gov, click on “Authentication Certificate Requirements” and download form DS 4194. Complete this and send with your original document to: “Authentication Officer, US Department of State, 518 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20520.” Telephone number is 202485-8000. The fee for an Apostille is $8.00. Another mailing address is: US Department of State, Office of Authentications, CA/PPT/S/ TO/AUT, 44132 Mercure Cir., and PO Box 1206, Sterling, VA 20166-1206.

There is a company called “National Apostille” and their website is National Apostille.com. Phone number is 800-903-2470. Email is support@nationalapostille. com. They provide this service for documents going to all 1961 Hague Convention Country members. They also have translators available to translate documents from English to the language of the respective country where a document will be sent. Their fee for obtaining an apostille is $75 and their fees to translate documents are $250 and up, depending on the size and content of the document.

To obtain legal recognition for documents coming into the United States, a notary’s signature is “authenticated” for a fee of $30.00 per signature. Application for this “authentication” is made at the United States Embassy or the Consulate in the country of origin.

Please make sure that all documents being sent from, or coming to the United States have an Apostille or the proper Authentication. This makes things smoother and reduces the risk of forgeries or non-compliant documents and that’s the Bottom Line.