Quick answer
Whether Lebanon recognizes a Florida adoption depends on the family's religious community, since personal status law differs between communities. Florida issues an authentication certificate for Lebanon, not an apostille — $220, 5–7 business days.
- Issued by
- The Clerk of Court in the county that granted the adoption (certified final judgment of adoption); for a child born in Florida…
- Florida state fee
- $20 — included in $220
- Route
- Florida authentication → U.S. Department of State → Lebanon embassy
- Online notarization
- Not applicable — needs a certified copy
- Consulate serving Florida
- Embassy of Lebanon, Washington, D.C.
- Translation
- Lebanon's embassy translates Lebanese documents into English but doesn't publish a rule for translating U.S.
How a Florida adoption documents is used in Lebanon
Whether Lebanon recognizes a Florida adoption depends on the family's religious community, since personal status law differs between communities. If a Lebanese office asks for proof of a Florida adoption, it will want the certified final judgment of adoption from the Clerk of Court, not just the amended birth certificate. Talk to a Lebanese lawyer about your community's rules before starting the chain.
Getting a adoption documents Florida will authenticate
The final judgment of adoption certified by the Florida Clerk of Court (wet-ink or official e-certification), with all pages attached; its state fee is $20. The new birth certificate must be a certified copy signed by the State Registrar and certified in 2014 or later; its state fee is $10. Both fees are included in our price.
Adoption records are confidential under section 63.162, Florida Statutes, and released only on court order. The easiest time to get certified copies is through your adoption attorney while the case is still open; for an older case, ask the clerk what they require, since you may need to file a request with the court. Clerk and Vital Statistics fees are not included in our $220.
State fee for this document: $20 — included in our price. Full details on the adoption documents page.
What happens after the Florida certificate — Lebanon
After we return your document with its Florida authentication certificate, it goes to the U.S. Department of State for authentication, which Lebanon's embassy requires for documents such as powers of attorney and life certificates. Next, the Embassy of Lebanon in Washington, D.C., whose jurisdiction includes Florida, legalizes it. Ask the office in Lebanon whether the document also needs to be certified by Lebanon's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 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 Lebanon — and translation
Florida falls under the Embassy of Lebanon in Washington, D.C., according to its published jurisdiction list; there is also an Honorary Consulate of Lebanon in Tampa. The embassy legalizes documents and registers births, marriages, divorces and deaths of Lebanese citizens. In Lebanon, documents go to the personal status registry, religious and civil courts, the land registry, notaries, banks and pension funds.
Lebanon's embassy translates Lebanese documents into English but doesn't publish a rule for translating U.S. documents into Arabic. Lebanese courts, registries and notaries generally work in Arabic and may require a translation, often made in Lebanon. Ask the receiving office. If it accepts a Florida translation, the translator certifies it, a different notary notarizes it, and it is authenticated in Florida with the original.
The embassy's published pages don't set a document-age rule for most documents. Lebanese registries and courts may want recent certified copies, so order fresh Florida records and ask the receiving office how recent they must be.
Consular office serving Florida: Embassy of Lebanon, Washington, D.C. (its jurisdiction includes Florida).
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 adoption documentss get rejected
- Plain or conformed copy of the judgment instead of a certified one
- Birth certificate certified before 2014
- Birth certificate from another state, which that state must apostille
- Translation stapled to the certified original
What it costs for Lebanon
$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 Lebanon 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).