Quick answer
Children of Jordanian and dual-national families travel between Florida and Jordan often. Florida issues an authentication certificate for Jordan, not an apostille — $220, 5–7 business days.
- Issued by
- The parent or legal guardian who isn't traveling, signing before a Florida notary.
- Florida state fee
- $10 — included in $220
- Route
- Florida authentication → U.S. Department of State → Jordan embassy
- Online notarization
- Available as an add-on
- Consulate serving Florida
- Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Legalization Section, Washington, D.C.
- Translation
- Jordan's Ministry of Justice says translations of foreign documents go through the same certification steps, in the same order, as the original…
How a Florida child travel consent letter is used in Jordan
Children of Jordanian and dual-national families travel between Florida and Jordan often. A notarized consent letter from the parent who stays behind helps with airlines and immigration. If the letter will be used with a Jordanian authority, for example to issue or renew a child's Jordanian passport without one parent, ask the embassy whether it must be legalized or signed at the embassy itself.
Getting a child travel consent letter Florida will authenticate
A specific letter naming the child, the consenting parent or parents, the accompanying adult, the destination and the travel dates, signed before a Florida notary with a complete notarial certificate (venue, presence or online box, date, ID type, seal). Names must match each passport exactly, and the dates must cover the actual trip.
Draft the letter yourself (Florida law prescribes no form), then sign before any Florida notary or through our online notarization add-on, where each parent can sign separately from wherever they are: $40 for the first document ($10 notarization fee + $30 technology platform fee) and $20 for each additional document. Notarization is not included in our $220. Many trips need only a notarized letter, so confirm the apostille is actually required.
State fee for this document: $10 — included in our price. Full details on the child travel consent letter page.
What happens after the Florida certificate — Jordan
After we return your document with its Florida authentication certificate, it must be authenticated by the U.S. Department of State before Jordan's embassy will accept it. The Legalization Section of the Embassy of Jordan in Washington, D.C. then legalizes it; the embassy uses Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs e-portal for applications and payment. In Jordan, the document is certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice before it reaches the requesting authority. Diplomas and transcripts follow a separate route the embassy designates. We don't handle, arrange or refer anyone for these steps.
We don't handle or arrange the U.S. Department of State or embassy steps. See how non-Hague authentication works.
Who receives it in Jordan — and translation
In the U.S., the Legalization Section of the Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Washington, D.C. legalizes documents after U.S. Department of State authentication. In Jordan, documents are then certified at the Documents Certification Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where the Ministry of Justice certifies them too, before reaching the office that asked for them: the Civil Status and Passports Department, the courts, the Department of Lands and Survey, ministries or employers.
Jordan's Ministry of Justice says translations of foreign documents go through the same certification steps, in the same order, as the original, even if the original is already certified. So if you translate into Arabic in Florida, the translation should be certified by the translator, notarized by a different notary and authenticated in Florida, then follow the same chain. Ask the receiving office first whether it would rather have the translation made in Jordan. One exception: to add a child to the family book through the embassy, the embassy accepts an Arabic translation stamped by a certified translation office without separate authentication.
Jordan's embassy instructions don't set a document-age rule. Jordanian offices may want recent vital records and police checks, so ask the receiving office how recent each document must be.
Consular office serving Florida: Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Legalization Section, Washington, D.C.
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 authentication certificate.
Returned to you
Back in 5–7 business days — anywhere in the U.S., or abroad for a flat $100.
Why child travel consent letters get rejected
- Travel dates no longer match the trip
- Names differ from the passports
- One parent signed when both were required, with no proof of sole custody
- No Spanish version or translation where the authority requires one
What it costs for Jordan
$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 authentication to Jordan 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).