Quick answer
Kuwaiti work permits and job grades depend on your degree, so legalized diplomas and transcripts are among the most requested Florida documents. Florida issues an authentication certificate for Kuwait, not an apostille — $220, 5–7 business days.
- Issued by
- Your Florida school's registrar or another issuing official, signing before a Florida notary.
- Florida state fee
- $10 — included in $220
- Route
- Florida authentication → U.S. Department of State → Kuwait embassy
- Online notarization
- Not applicable — needs a certified copy
- Consulate serving Florida
- Embassy of the State of Kuwait, Washington, D.C.
- Translation
- Kuwait's embassy legalization instructions don't set a translation rule.
How a Florida diploma or transcript is used in Kuwait
Kuwaiti work permits and job grades depend on your degree, so legalized diplomas and transcripts are among the most requested Florida documents. Kuwait's embassy lists diplomas, transcripts and teacher credentials separately, so teachers may need all three. The Ministry of Higher Education may also review the degree for recognition. In Florida, a public school or university document must be notarized by the registrar at issuance; ask your school for that version before you order.
Getting a diploma or transcript Florida will authenticate
Public schools and universities: a diploma copy or transcript signed by the registrar or an issuing official before a Florida notary, with a complete notarial certificate (a jurat or a representative acknowledgment). Private schools: a printed transcript with a notarized statement that it is a true copy; we ask for the school's custodian to sign it. A framed original with printed signatures, or a transcript in a sealed envelope, can't be apostilled.
Ask the registrar's office for the record “notarized for apostille” and released to you unsealed; many Florida registrars have a dedicated request with its own form, fee and processing time. An outside notary can't make a public school record apostille-ready, because Florida notaries may not attest copies of public school records. The school's fees are not included in our $220.
State fee for this document: $10 — included in our price. Full details on the diploma or transcript page.
What happens after the Florida certificate — Kuwait
After we return your document with its Florida authentication certificate, it goes to the U.S. Department of State for authentication, then to the Embassy of the State of Kuwait in Washington, D.C. for legalization. The embassy's instructions list that exact order: Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State, then the embassy. Ask your sponsor or the Kuwaiti office whether the document must also be attested by Kuwait's Ministry of Foreign Affairs after it arrives. 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 Kuwait — and translation
Legalized Florida documents in Kuwait are used by the Ministry of Interior for residence and family visas, the Public Authority for Manpower and employers for work permits, the Ministry of Higher Education for degree recognition, the Ministry of Health for medical licensing, the Ministry of Justice and courts for family and estate matters, and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for companies. In the U.S., the legalization step is done by the Embassy of the State of Kuwait in Washington, D.C.
Kuwait's embassy legalization instructions don't set a translation rule. Kuwaiti courts and ministries generally work in Arabic and may require an Arabic translation, often made by a translation office in Kuwait. Ask the receiving office first. If it accepts a Florida translation, the translator certifies it, a different notary notarizes it, and it is authenticated in Florida along with the original.
We found no published Kuwaiti rule on document age. Employers and the Ministry of Interior may want recently issued vital records and police checks, so ask your sponsor how recent each must be before you start.
Consular office serving Florida: Embassy of the State of Kuwait, 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 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 authentication certificate.
Returned to you
Back in 5–7 business days — anywhere in the U.S., or abroad for a flat $100.
Why diploma or transcripts get rejected
- Notary stamp with no certificate wording, or a certificate missing the county or presence box
- Transcript still inside a sealed envelope
- Copy notarized by an outside notary instead of signed by the registrar
- School or notary located in another state
What it costs for Kuwait
$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 Kuwait 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).