Quick answer
Custody orders and child-support judgments are the Florida court records most likely to cross into Mexico. One Florida apostille is all the U.S. side needs — $220, 5–7 business days.
- Issued by
- The Clerk of the Circuit Court in the Florida county where the case was filed: judgments, probate letters, guardianship letters and family orders.
- Florida state fee
- $20 — included in $220
- Route
- Apostille only — Hague member since 1995
- Online notarization
- Not applicable — needs a certified copy
- Consulate serving Florida
- Consulate General of Mexico in Miami
- Translation
- Our general rule is a translation certified by the translator, notarized by a different notary and apostilled in Florida.
How a Florida court records is used in Mexico
Custody orders and child-support judgments are the Florida court records most likely to cross into Mexico. A parent may need to show a Mexican family judge or the DIF who holds custody, or prove authority when a child lives with one parent in Mexico. The Mexican court will want the order certified by the Clerk of Court, apostilled and translated by a perito, and enforcing it there can require a separate recognition case. Send the final order, not a temporary one, and include any later modification.
Getting a court records Florida will apostille
A complete copy certified by the Florida Clerk of Court, either with an original wet-ink certification and the clerk's seal or with the clerk's official e-certification, including the judge's signature page and with nothing removed or added. The state fee is $20 ($10 apostille + $10 certificate of incumbency), included in our price.
Order the certified copy from the clerk of the county where the case was filed, online, by mail or at the courthouse. Florida law sets the clerk's certification fee at $2 plus copy charges, usually $1 per page, and some clerks add online fees. Sealed or confidential records need the clerk's release. Clerk fees are not included in our $220.
State fee for this document: $20 — included in our price. Full details on the court records apostille page.
Who receives it in Mexico — and translation
In Mexico, Florida documents go to the Registro Civil of each state (inserción de actas extranjeras), notarios públicos (property, fideicomisos, sucesiones, companies), family courts, the SEP (revalidación de estudios) and the National Migration Institute (INM). In the U.S., the Consulate General of Mexico in Miami registers births for Mexican nationality, grants poderes notariales and issues residence visas; its checklists generally require apostille and translation only for documents issued in a third country.
Our general rule is a translation certified by the translator, notarized by a different notary and apostilled in Florida. Mexico is the big exception: notarios, courts and Registros Civiles usually require a perito traductor authorized by a state Tribunal Superior de Justicia instead, done in Mexico after the apostille. Mexican consulates in the U.S. generally don't ask for a translation of English documents, and SEP revalidation accepts a simple translation.
Mexico has no single national expiry for apostilled documents; each notario, registry or consulate sets its own. Many want civil-status records and company certificates recently issued, so order fresh certified copies shortly before you send them to us.
Consular office serving Florida: Consulate General of Mexico 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 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 apostille.
Returned to you
Back in 5–7 business days — anywhere in the U.S., or abroad for a flat $100.
Why court recordss get rejected
- Docket printout, attorney copy or conformed copy
- Notarized photocopy of the court record
- Missing pages, such as the judge's signature page
- Order from another state's court
What it costs for Mexico
$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 Mexico 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).
