Marriage certifications vs. marriage licenses

The State of Florida issues two types of marriage certificates: Certification of Marriage and a certified copy of the Marriage Record.

If you have a Certification of Marriage, please check the name of the State Registrar who signed the document. The following signatures will be acceptable for Florida apostilles:

Ken Jones (the current State Registrar) * C. Meade Grigg * Oliver Board * Edward Williams * Charles Mahan

If you have a certified copy of the Marriage Record, it should have a stamp and the signature of the Clerk (Deputy Clerk) of the Superior Court in the county where the marriage license was issued.

florida marriage certification eligible for apostille

florida marriage license eligible for apostille 2

Please note that Certification of Marriage is considered a short form marriage certificate. A Certified copy of the Marriage Record issued by the Circuit Court has a lot more information. Please contact the receiving foreign agency or the Consulate of the country of intended use to determine what kind of marriage record may be required.

To start the process of getting an apostille for a Florida marriage certificate, you must first have a certified copy. If you were asked for several apostilled marriage certificates, for each Florida apostille you will need a separate certified copy. Please note that, under no circumstances, can a Florida vital record (including marriage certificates) be notarized. If the Secretary of State sees any kind of notarization on your document, the document will be rejected for an apostille.

Florida marriage certificates: apostille requirements

There are two types of marriage records issued in the State of Florida:

Certification of Marriage issued by the Office of Vital Statistics and signed by the State Registrar, and
certified copy of the Marriage Record issued by the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the marriage was registered.

For apostille / legalization purposes both documents are acceptable.

In case of Certification of Marriage, a Florida state apostille will authenticate the signature of the State Registrar on a certified copy.

The following signatures of the State Registrars (former and current) are acceptable for Florida apostilles:

Ken Jones (current State Registrar) * C. Meade Grigg * Oliver Board * Edward Williams * Charles Mahan

If your Certification of Marriage has a different signature, it might still be acceptable. Please email a copy or a free evaluation.

Certified copies of Marriage Record are issued by the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the marriage license was issued. To be eligible for an apostille / legalization, this document needs to be a certified copy with a stamp of the court and the signature of the Clerk or Deputy Clerk. We strongly recommend that you email a copy of your document for a free evaluation. In many cases it will signigicantly speed up your apostille / legalization project.

If your marriage certificate meets the above requirements, send the original document and the completed Order form to us by mail.

If your document does not qualify for an apostille...

Florida marriage certificate: certified copy with Hague apostille

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What does a Florida apostille look like?

In the State of Florida, as in all U.S. states, an apostille is a separate page attached to the document by a staple. It is signed by the Secretary of State (facsimile signature) and has the Great Seal of the State of Florida.

Price, processing time, order form

price 4 Florida apostille: $175

USPS Priority mail (within the U.S.): free

You will find more shipping options in the Order Form

Processing time: 4-6 bus. days + mail

order form 3 Please complete the Order Form and mail it with your original document(s) to

Foreign Documents Express

331 Newman Springs Rd., Bldg. 1

4th Floor, Suite 143

Red Bank, NJ 07701

If you are sending your document(s) from a foreign country, please use FedEx, DHL or TNT, and email the tracking number so that we can watch for your package.

175 apostille 1 No hidden fees.