Quick answer
German banks must verify a customer's identity under the money-laundering rules, and German notaries must identify everyone in a deed. One Florida apostille is all the U.S. side needs — $220, 5–7 business days.
- Issued by
- A Florida notary, either attesting a copy of the passport you present in person or notarizing your sworn statement that the attached copy is true.
- Florida state fee
- $10 — included in $220
- Route
- Apostille only — Hague member since 1966
- Online notarization
- Available as an add-on
- Consulate serving Florida
- Consulate General of Germany in Miami
- Translation
- German offices that require a translation usually want one by a translator sworn, publicly appointed or authorized under German state law…
How a Florida passport copy is used in Germany
German banks must verify a customer's identity under the money-laundering rules, and German notaries must identify everyone in a deed. When you deal with them from Florida, without visiting a branch or the notary's office, they may accept a certified copy of your passport. A Florida notary can make an attested copy of the passport photo page, and we apostille it. Before you order one, ask the bank or notary which identification methods they accept, since many offer video identification or the German consulate's certification instead.
Getting a passport copy Florida will apostille
A clear copy of the photo page (and any other pages requested) with a complete Florida certificate in English: the attested-copy certificate, or a jurat on your sworn statement. A stamp and signature with no wording, or a copy notarized in another state, will not work.
Present your passport to a Florida notary for an attested copy (an individual notary may decline), or sign a sworn statement before any Florida notary or through our online notarization add-on: $40 for the first document ($10 notarization fee + $30 technology platform fee) and $20 for each additional document. Never mail your passport. Notarization is not included in our $220.
State fee for this document: $10 — included in our price. Full details on the passport copy apostille page.
Who receives it in Germany — and translation
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.
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 it — or sign online
Drop the envelope at any FedEx location. Not signed yet? Add online notarization and there is nothing to ship.
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 passport copys get rejected
- Stamp and signature only, with no certificate wording
- Copy notarized in another state
- Incomplete certificate: missing county, date, ID type or presence box
- Illegible copy, including the machine-readable lines
What it costs for Germany
$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).