How to apostille a federal document | Florida Fast Apostille

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

FBI or other federal document: Florida cannot apostille an FBI background check, a federal court paper, or a U.S. agency document. Those go to the U.S. Department of State in Washington. We can look at the file and tell you that. We cannot put a Florida stamp on it.

If the letterhead is federal, we stop and say so while the paper is still in your hands.

The foreign office may still want the document. The certificate on the back has to come from Washington, not Tallahassee. In a Dominican Republic file that is the usual reason this paper shows up. Dominican Republic 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: any federal document presented as a Florida apostille. 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.

There is no Florida apostille fee on this paper because Florida will not issue the stamp.

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 Dominican Republic 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 federal document 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.

Dominican Republic is in the Hague Apostille Convention. Dominican Republic 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 Dominican Republic 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 until the issuer has signed. Florida cannot apostille an FBI background check, a federal court paper, or a U.S. agency document. Those go to the U.S. Department of State in Washington. We can look at the file and tell you that. We cannot put a Florida stamp on it.

Can you apostille a federal document for Dominican Republic without a trip to Tallahassee? Yes. You mail the original. We file it. It comes back to Tallahassee with tracking. Dominican Republic 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 Dominican Republic accept a photocopy if the apostille is real? No. Any federal document presented as a Florida apostille 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. If the letterhead is federal, we stop and say so while the paper is still in your hands. 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 Dominican Republic 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 federal document 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. Vital records are on security paper that shows a crease forever.

Read this together with Dominican Republic, FBI or other federal document, Tallahassee, Leon County, prices, how it works, the order form, all countries, Florida cities. Related guides: Florida birth certificate for Dominican Republic, Clerk-certified copies in Jacksonville, Duval County, FBI background checks are not a Florida apostille, Florida apostille for Dominican Republic. The phone is (855) 261-8500 and the email is floridafastapostille@gmail.com.

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