An Apostille is simply the name for a specialized certificate, issued by the Secretary of State. The Apostille is attached to your original document to verify it is legitimate and authentic so it will be accepted as valid in another country.

In the United States, all 50 states and the Federal Government (US Department of State – Office of Authentication) can issue an Apostille.

The Apostille Convention provides the simplified certification of public (including notarized) documents to be used in countries that have joined the convention. Documents destined for use in these countries and their territories should be certified by one of the officials in the jurisdiction in which the document has been executed. An example would be a birth certificate of a person born in Florida MUST be apostilled in Florida. It cannot be apostilled in another state.

The Apostille Convention requires that all Apostilles be numbered consecutively, with individual numbers applied to each Apostille issued. The recognized standard Apostille contains a seal and 10 mandatory references.

Our White-Glove Apostille Service in Florida handles the entire process for you:

• We review your documents in advance to ensure compliance. Currently, more than half of all documents submitted for Apostille to the Secretaries of State are rejected.  The reasons vary, but the end result is the same; delays in getting your documents authenticated and returned to you.
• We fill out all forms required by the Secretary of State, and pay all fees associated with the Authentication. This may seem minor, but we know exactly what the State is looking for, so we complete these forms with meticulous care including every detail.
• We hand carry every Apostille request to and from the Secretary of State’s Office. We know exactly where your documents are in the authentication process, and we communicate this information to you.  We do not rely of the Secretary of State’s Office to open, process and mail back your application.
• We provide a scanned copy of your Apostille Certificate as soon as it is completed. This lets you know that your document is completed and, on its’ way, back to you.
• We use Federal Express as our shipping carrier. We hand carry every shipment to the FedEx counter and have it scanned.  We NEVER use drop boxes or third party drop off locations for our shipments.