Bank Statement Apostille for Germany

German residence permits for self-employed people, retirees or job seekers require proof that you can support yourself, and bank statements are the usual evidence. The German consulate or the local immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) sets the format, and statements are typically filed without an apostille. Apostilled statements come up when a German court, notary or bank needs authenticated proof, for example in an inheritance. A printout can't be apostilled; use a bank officer's letter signed before a notary, or the statement with your notarized true-copy affidavit.

The statement or bank letter must carry a complete Florida notarial certificate: a bank officer's signature acknowledged in a representative capacity (or sworn), a Florida attested-copy certificate, or a jurat on your sworn statement with the statement attached. Every page must be included, and the notary must be commissioned in Florida.

Ask your branch for a reference letter signed before a Florida notary, or use the attested-copy or sworn-statement route, both of which can be done through our online notarization add-on: $40 for the first document ($10 notarization fee + $30 technology platform fee) and $20 for each additional document. Bank fees and notarization are not included in our $220.

State fee for this document: $10 — included in our price. Full details on the bank statement apostille page.

The registrar's office (Standesamt) handles marriages, birth registrations and name declarations; births of children who never lived in Germany go to Standesamt I in Berlin. State justice departments recognize foreign divorces, probate courts (Nachlassgerichte) issue certificates of inheritance, and German notaries and land registries handle property. Recognition of qualifications runs through state authorities and the ZAB. The Consulate General of Germany in Miami serves Florida.

German offices that require a translation usually want one by a translator sworn, publicly appointed or authorized under German state law, searchable in the state justice administrations' database. Our general rule is a translation certified by the translator, notarized by a separate notary and apostilled in Florida; some German offices accept it, but many will instead require a sworn German translator. For recognition of a Florida divorce, plan on the apostille plus a sworn German translation. Translate after the apostille, including the apostille page.

To marry in Germany, the birth certificate must not be older than six months. Other offices set their own limits, so ask; German notaries and register courts also tend to reject corporate certificates that are several months old.

Consular office serving Florida: Consulate General of Germany in Miami.

$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 Germany 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).