Quick answer
A sheriff's clearance letter covers one Florida county, and Colombia seldom asks for it. One Florida apostille is all the U.S. side needs — $220, 5–7 business days.
- Issued by
- The records section of the Florida county sheriff's office where you live or lived, with its employee signing before a Florida notary when the letter is issued.
- Florida state fee
- $10 — included in $220
- Route
- Apostille only — Hague member since 2001
- Online notarization
- Not applicable — needs a certified copy
- Consulate serving Florida
- Consulate General of Colombia in Miami
- Translation
- Colombia accepts translations made in Florida when they're certified by the translator, notarized by a different notary and apostilled, which matches our general rule…
How a Florida sheriff clearance letter is used in Colombia
A sheriff's clearance letter covers one Florida county, and Colombia seldom asks for it. You might need it for a teaching job, a volunteer program, or an ICBF adoption file that asks for local records alongside a statewide or federal one. Before ordering, ask whether a county letter is acceptable at all, and remember the three-month freshness rule if it's for a visa. The letter must be notarized by the sheriff's office when it's issued; a plain printout can't be apostilled.
Getting a sheriff clearance letter Florida will apostille
An original letter on the sheriff's office letterhead, signed by its records employee and notarized when issued, with a complete Florida notarial certificate and seal. A plain printout, an emailed PDF or a letter you take to a notary afterwards can't be apostilled.
Contact the records section of the sheriff's office, say the letter is for an apostille and ask for the notarized version; each office sets its own process, fees and ID rules. Sheriff's office fees are not included in our $220.
State fee for this document: $10 — included in our price. Full details on the sheriff clearance letter apostille page.
Who receives it in Colombia — and translation
Florida documents go to the Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil and notarías (registro civil), the Cancillería (visas, apostille rules, minor-travel guidance), Migración Colombia (departures of minors), the Ministerio de Educación Nacional (convalidación), the Corte Suprema de Justicia (exequátur of foreign judgments) and the ICBF (adoptions). The Consulate General of Colombia in Miami handles registrations and authentications for Florida residents.
Colombia accepts translations made in Florida when they're certified by the translator, notarized by a different notary and apostilled, which matches our general rule; that translation is a separate document on your order. Alternatively, a Colombian official translator in Colombia can translate after the apostille, and that translation needs no apostille. The Cancillería recommends apostilling the original before translating, and the Ministry of Education doesn't require apostilled translations for convalidación.
For visas, the Cancillería requires documents other than passports to be issued no more than three months before the application. Notarías and other entities set their own limits, and many also want recent civil-status documents.
Consular office serving Florida: Consulate General of Colombia in Miami.
Four steps, one week
Order online
Pick the document and destination country on the order form and pay by card. After we review your documents, FedEx emails you a prepaid label.
Send your document
Drop the envelope at any FedEx location.
We file in person
We review it, then walk it to the Florida Department of State in Tallahassee for the apostille.
Returned to you
Back in 5–7 business days — anywhere in the U.S., or abroad for a flat $100.
Why sheriff clearance letters get rejected
- Letter not notarized
- Notarized later by a notary who didn't witness the signature
- Scan or copy instead of the original letter
- Older than the receiving authority's age limit
What it costs for Colombia
$220 per document, $380 for two and $160 each for three or more — the state fee, request form, in-person filing in Tallahassee and FedEx shipping inside the U.S. are included. Shipping the finished apostille to Colombia is a flat $100 per order.
Not included: whatever the issuing office charges for the certified copy or certificate, and notarization (online notarization is $40 for the first document — $10 notarization fee + $30 technology platform fee — and $20 for each additional one).