Court Records Apostille for Dominican Republic

Florida court orders that touch Dominican life are mostly family orders: custody, child support, or a guardianship that a Dominican school, bank or the DGM must respect. A Florida order doesn't bind Dominican authorities automatically, and enforcing one there usually requires a Dominican court process. Whatever the route, the Dominican side will want a complete copy certified by the Clerk of Court, with wet-ink or official e-certification, apostilled, plus an apostilled Spanish translation. Bring the full order, not a one-page summary.

A complete copy certified by the Florida Clerk of Court, either with an original wet-ink certification and the clerk's seal or with the clerk's official e-certification, including the judge's signature page and with nothing removed or added. The state fee is $20 ($10 apostille + $10 certificate of incumbency), included in our price.

Order the certified copy from the clerk of the county where the case was filed, online, by mail or at the courthouse. Florida law sets the clerk's certification fee at $2 plus copy charges, usually $1 per page, and some clerks add online fees. Sealed or confidential records need the clerk's release. Clerk fees are not included in our $220.

State fee for this document: $20 — included in our price. Full details on the court records apostille page.

The Dirección General de Migración (DGM) handles residency and minors' exit permits. The Junta Central Electoral runs the civil registry through its Oficialías del Estado Civil and records births, marriages and deaths of Dominicans abroad, usually through the consulates. MESCyT recognizes higher-education degrees, the Dirección General de Impuestos Internos issues tax IDs and handles inheritance tax, and the Registro de Títulos records property transfers. MIREX authenticates Dominican documents, not Florida ones.

Dominican offices usually want the Spanish translation to carry its own apostille. The translator certifies the translation of the original and its apostille, a separate Florida notary notarizes that certification (the translator can't be the notary), and we apostille the notarized translation as a second document, so an original plus translation is our two-document price of $380. Some Dominican offices may instead want the translation made in the Dominican Republic; ask the office that will receive your file.

Minors' exit permits from the DGM are valid for 90 days once approved. For other documents, ask the receiving office how recent they must be; criminal-record certificates are the most time-sensitive, and freshly certified vital records avoid the pre-2014 signature problem.

Consular office serving Florida: Consulate General of the Dominican Republic in Miami; Consulate General of the Dominican Republic in Orlando.

$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 Dominican Republic 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).