Sumter County · Central Florida
Florida apostille service for The Villages, Florida
You do not drive to Tallahassee. The Villages residents ship the original to us. We hand it to the only Florida office that can add the foreign-use stamp, then we ship it back with tracking.
What an apostille is, in plain words
An apostille is a one-page Florida stamp that foreign offices use to trust a Florida document. It does not prove the story on the document is true. It proves the Florida notary, clerk, or state officer who signed it is real.
Only the Florida Department of State in Tallahassee can add that stamp. No county clerk, no Miami office, and no notary can do it. The Villages residents do not have to drive there. You ship the original to us. We stand in that line and ship the stamped document back to The Villages.
How The Villages files actually move
Sumter/Lake retirement households sending marriage, death, and POA documents overseas. Mail-in is the usual path.
Orlando, Kissimmee, Lakeland, and The Villages send student records, hospitality work documents, and family records. Unofficial school printouts fail. Ask the registrar for a certified copy.
From The Villages, originals reach our Tallahassee desk in about two business days. We take them to the Florida Department of State. The state usually returns courier drops the next business day. We then send the stamped original back to you with tracking.
ZIP codes we cover in The Villages: 32162.
What Sumter County will and will not stamp
Court documents (divorce, name change, adoption, guardianship) must be certified by the Sumter County clerk. A printout from a court website is not enough. The clerk’s stamp has to be on the document before Florida will add the foreign-use stamp.
Birth, marriage, and death records must be certified copies from Florida vital records — not a hospital keepsake, not a photocopy, not a laminated wallet card.
Powers of attorney and affidavits must be notarized by a Florida notary (in person or on a Florida video session). A Georgia or New York notary cannot be fixed in Tallahassee.
Where The Villages documents usually go
Most The Villages orders we see are headed to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Those countries accept the Florida stamp on a Florida-issued or Florida-notarized paper.
Cuba does not. If the document is for use in Cuba, a Florida stamp is usually the wrong process. Call (855) 261-8500 before you ship. We will not take your money for a stamp Cuba will reject.
An FBI background check is also the wrong line. Florida cannot stamp federal documents. That file goes to Washington.
What it costs and what you ship
Standard filing is $125 for the first document plus the Florida state fee ($10, or $20 when a county clerk certified it). Rush is $199 plus state fees. Mailing the original to the state yourself can take months. If the document has a problem, the state sends it back and you lose that time.
Upload a photo or scan or PDF first. If the document will fail, we tell you while it is still in The Villages. Then you pay, ship the original with the order number on the label, and we file it.
Nearby Sumter County towns
We also file for Bushnell, Center Hill, Coleman, Lake Panasoffkee, Oxford, Sumterville, Webster, Wildwood. Same rules. Same Tallahassee counter. Same return tracking to your door.
ZIP codes in The Villages
Countries we file for
AlbaniaAndorraAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBruneiBulgariaBurundiCanadaCape VerdeChileChinaColombiaCook IslandsCosta RicaCroatiaCuba (not this stamp)CyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorEstoniaEswatiniFijiFinlandFranceGeorgiaGermanyGreeceGrenadaGuatemalaGuyanaHondurasHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanKazakhstanKosovoKyrgyzstanLatviaLesothoLiberiaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMalawiMaltaMarshall IslandsMauritiusMexicoMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMoroccoNamibiaNetherlandsNew ZealandNicaraguaNiueNorth MacedoniaNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPanamaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalRomaniaRwandaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSpainSurinameSwedenSwitzerlandTajikistanTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaVietnam
Call (855) 261-8500 if the office abroad sent a checklist you do not recognize.
Questions people ask
Can I get a Florida apostille in The Villages without driving to Tallahassee?
Yes. You ship the original to us. We are the person at the state counter. The stamped document comes back to The Villages with tracking.
How long from The Villages?
Plan about two business days for the original to reach Tallahassee, plus the state’s next-day pickup for courier drops, plus return shipping. Rush is for when a consulate date is already on the calendar.
Will you stamp a photocopy?
No. Florida will reject it. Send a certified original.
What if the document is for Cuba?
Cuba does not take this Florida stamp. Ask us about the embassy process instead of paying for the wrong stamp.