The Florida apostille request form.

Every filing at the Florida Department of State travels with the Apostille and Notarial Certificate Request Form — it tells the state who's asking, which documents are enclosed, what country each one targets, and where everything should be returned. That destination-country field carries more weight than it appears to: it decides whether the state issues an apostille (Hague members) or a certificate of notarial authority (everyone else).

The official form is downloadable below if you'd like to fill it out ahead of time — or skip it altogether. When we handle the filing, the request form gets completed with you during your office visit. It's included in the service, never an extra.

Three mistakes cause the trouble: naming the wrong destination country (or leaving it empty), which can generate the wrong certificate type; listing documents that don't qualify, which freezes the whole envelope; and mismatched return details. All three are harmless when someone who files daily reviews the paperwork — which is exactly the argument for not going it alone.

Download: The Florida Department of State's Apostille and Notarial Certificate Request Form (PDF) — or let us complete it for you at your appointment.

The request form travels with your documents to Tallahassee and tells the apostille desk three things: who is submitting, what is enclosed, and where each document is going. The destination country field drives which certificate gets issued — an apostille for Hague Convention members, or a certificate of notarial authority for everywhere else, which then needs embassy legalization on top.

If a shipment contains documents for more than one country, the form itemizes them separately so each receives the correct certificate. Get that wrong and the state issues the wrong instrument, which is not a rejection you find out about quickly — you find out when the receiving authority abroad refuses it.

You are welcome to download and complete the form in advance. When we handle the filing, we fill it out with you at your appointment, confirm the destination for every document in the batch, and keep a copy on file so a reorder later takes one phone call instead of starting over.