Quick answer
Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM) controls minors leaving Mexico. One Florida apostille is all the U.S. side needs — $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
- Apostille only — Hague member since 1995
- Online notarization
- Available as an add-on
- 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 child travel consent letter is used in Mexico
Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM) controls minors leaving Mexico. When a Mexican child, or a foreign child with Mexican residency, departs alone or with another adult and a parent lives in Mexico, INM asks for its SAM form or a notarized authorization. The Mexican consulate in Montreal explains that a parent living in Canada signs before a local notary and then apostilles the document so it has legal effect in Mexico; a parent in Florida follows the same logic. Carry the original, and match names exactly to the child's passport.
Getting a child travel consent letter Florida will apostille
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 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 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 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 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).
