Hi Julie, The 1961 Hague Convention established the apostille as a form of authentication for its member states. An apostille is authentication of a public document in a foreign country. A public document is a document issued by an elected or appointed public official or has been notarized. For example, a marriage license, death certificate, school transcript, diploma, vehicle title, adoption records, criminal background checks, court documents, etc. The apostille certifies the authenticity of the issuing official or notary public’s signature. Each state designates a Competent Authority who issues an apostille for a public document. The Florida Secretary of State is the Competent Authority in Florida. Only the Competent Authority can issue an apostille. Apostilles for the State of Florida are only issued at 2661 Executive Center Cir., Tallahassee, FL 32301 by the Division of Corporations. Visit http://dos.myflorida.com/sunbiz/other-services/apostille-notarial-certification/faq/ to learn more.
