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Florida notary forms
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In Florida, documents intended for international use must be properly notarized by a Florida-commissioned notary before they can be submitted to the Florida Department of State for an apostille. Accurate notarization is critical—documents with errors or missing notarial elements will be rejected and cannot be apostilled.
This applies to documents such as affidavits, powers of attorney, business records, and personal documents. We review the notarization for compliance, advise on any required corrections, and handle the full apostille submission with the Florida Department of State to avoid delays.
Have multiple documents from different states? No need to search each state.
Signatures on non-recordable documents, e.g. powers of attorney, affidavits, consents, copies of IDs, diplomas, transcripts, etc. can be notarized by a Florida notary public. Here are a few general guidelines:
The notary must use a notarial certificate, otherwise the document cannot be apostilled (See sample notarial statements below)
If the document is signed by more than one person, the notary should indicate whose signature(s) he/she is notarizing.
Recordable documents that are issued by a state agency/officer (e.g. birth, death, marriage certificates, divorce judgments, articles of incorporation, etc.) cannot be notarised.
Remotely/electronically notarized documents are acceptable for apostilles. For electronic notarial acts performed remotely, there are additional requirements and restrictions (see below) Sample notarial certificates
Acknowledgment:
(for personal powers of attorney, statements, letters, consents, etc.)
physical presence or online notarization, this ___ day of _______, 20___, by (name of person acknowledging)Copy Certification:
(for certifying copies of passports, IDs, driver licenses, transcripts, diplomas and other personal documents)
IMPORTANT! Copies of vital records (birth, death, marriage certificates, divorce judgments) cannot be certified by a notary public.
Notary Stamp:
The official stamp of a Florida notary public shall:
1. Be a rubber stamp
2. Include the name of the notary public, the title “Notary Public - State of Florida” The seal shall also include the date of expiration of the commission of the notary public, and the commission number; and
3. An impression-type seal may be used in addition to the rubber stamp seal, but the rubber stamp seal shall be the official seal for use on a paper document.
Jurat:
(for affidavits, single status affidavits, sworn statements, etc.)
physical presence or online notarization,, this __ day of __________, 20__, by (name of person making statement).Copy Certification of a Tangible or an Electronic Record:
(A notary public must use a certificate in substantially the following form in notarizing a copy of a tangible or an electronic record or a printout of an electronic record)
Corporate Acknowledgment:
physical presence or online notarization, this ___ day of ________, 20__, by (name of person) as (type of authority, e.g. officer, trustee, attorney in fact) for (name of party on behalf of whom instrument was executed)Apostille requirements for electronically / remotely notarized documents
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n Florida, Remote Online Notarization (RON) requires a specific notarial wording in the certificate, indicating it's an "online notarization," with check-boxes for physical vs. online appearance, plus use of tamper-evident tech, electronic journal, seal, and digital certificate
- Certificate Language: The certificate must include options to check "physical presence" or select "online notarization" for the appearance type.
- Acknowledgment Example: For an acknowledgment, the wording must reflect the remote process, such as: "Sworn to (or affirmed) and subscribed before me by means of... ☐ online notarization, this day of [Date], (year), by (name of person making statement)".
- Description: The notary must describe the act and the document being signed.
