How to apostille a divorce decree | Florida Fast Apostille

Ecuador can take this stamp once the paper is a real Florida original. Ecuador is in the Hague Apostille Convention.

Florida divorce decree: The clerk of the Florida circuit court that entered the judgment has to certify the copy. A printout from the online case viewer is not a certified judgment.

We look for the clerk’s stamp, the judge’s signature as certified, and the county name. The state fee on a clerk-certified court paper is $20, not $10.

A later marriage, a pension split, or a custody file abroad often waits on this judgment. In a Ecuador file that is the usual reason this paper shows up. Ecuador offices usually ask because of a family record, a school file, a company paper, or a power of attorney.

What gets this one sent home: an uncertified docket printout, a photocopy of the certified copy, a decree from another state. None of those can be repaired by paying rush. Rush only moves a clean original to the counter on the next business day we have it.

Florida charges $20 on this one: $10 for the apostille and $10 because a county clerk certified it.

This is not a notary job unless the issuer told you to attach a true-copy statement. Do not “fix” a vital record or a court paper by notarizing a photocopy. Order a new certified copy instead.

From Tallahassee, the original should move with tracking. Write the order number on the label. We compare the paper in the envelope to the photo you uploaded. If they differ, we call before we spend the state’s time.

Ask the office in Ecuador whether they want a translation, and whether the translation has to include the apostille page. Do that work after Tallahassee stamps the original. A translation stapled to an unsigned copy cannot be apostilled.

Here is the same job as a week in Tallahassee, Leon County, not as a slogan. Monday, you already have the divorce decree in your hand, or you are still waiting on the issuer and you do not pretend otherwise. You upload the photo. We either tell you to mail it or tell you what is wrong with it. Tuesday you ship, with the order number on the label. Transit from Tallahassee is about one business day. The paper reaches the desk, we compare it to the photo, and it goes to the Florida Department of State on the next business-day drop.

Ecuador is in the Hague Apostille Convention. Ecuador offices usually ask because of a family record, a school file, a company paper, or a power of attorney. When the stamped original is back in Tallahassee, that is the moment a translation can start, if Ecuador asked for one. It is also the moment a PDF scan matters, if you bought the $20 copy so someone abroad can read the stamp before the courier arrives. The original is still the thing you carry to the appointment.

This week cannot start at our desk if Leon County has not certified the order yet. Build the clerk’s time in front of our time. A courier cannot collect a certification the clerk has not signed.

Can you apostille a divorce decree for Ecuador without a trip to Tallahassee? Yes. You mail the original. We file it. It comes back to Tallahassee with tracking. Ecuador is in the Hague Apostille Convention.

How long from Tallahassee? Plan about one business day for the original to reach us, a business day at the state for a courier drop, and return shipping. Rush is for when that calendar is already tight and the paper is already clean.

Will Ecuador accept a photocopy if the apostille is real? No. An uncertified docket printout never becomes a stampable original. Get a new certified copy instead of paying twice.

When the original comes home, look at the attachment before you celebrate. The certificate should be fastened to the document, the seal visible, the name of the Florida official readable. If a page is missing, call us before you mail it overseas. Fixing a set that is still in Tallahassee is a different problem from fixing one that is already in a consular pouch.

Look at the document the way the counter will look at it. We look for the clerk’s stamp, the judge’s signature as certified, and the county name. The state fee on a clerk-certified court paper is $20, not $10. If you would be embarrassed to hand that sheet to a clerk, do not hand it to a carrier. Order a better copy first. The order form is for the paper you actually have, not the paper you plan to order next week.

The cover sheet can be plain. Your name, the order number, the destination, and a phone that you answer. Write Ecuador on it so a second document in the envelope does not get paired with the wrong country. Do not include a narrative of the family history. The examiner does not read it, and it sometimes gets stapled to the document by accident.

Do not add a notary seal on top of this divorce decree to make it look more official. A registrar or a clerk already signed it. An extra notary makes the paper look altered. Papers that do need a Florida notary are on the power of attorney and affidavit pages.

Return shipping is part of the job, not a footnote. Pick the FedEx service that matches the date you told the foreign office, and remember that a business day at the state sits between those two rides. From Tallahassee, about one business day inbound is only half of the travel. The label home is chosen at checkout so you see the number.

A photo review is a real review. We are not collecting pictures for a gallery. If the picture is dark, crooked, or missing the page with the seal, send another one before you buy a label. The seal page is the page. A beautiful first page with the seal cropped off tells us nothing.

Keep the certified copy flat in the envelope. Folding through an embossed seal cracks it. People then ask if the crack “still counts.” Do not find out. A rigid mailer costs less than a new certificate. Court papers from Leon County are especially easy to over-fold because the clerk’s certificate is often a last page.

Tell the foreign office the truth about timing. “It is apostilled” means the certificate is attached and you have the original back. It does not mean you paid us this morning. Ecuador will want to see the paper, not a receipt. If they need an advance look, add the $20 PDF on prices and still wait for the original before you travel.

Read this together with Ecuador, Florida divorce decree, Tallahassee, Leon County, prices, how it works, the order form, all countries, Florida cities. Related guides: Clerk-certified copies in Brandon, Hillsborough County, Clerk-certified copies in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida birth certificate for Ecuador, Court website printouts are not certified copies. The phone is (855) 261-8500 and the email is floridafastapostille@gmail.com.

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