Florida documents bound for Nigeria
Nigerian Americans in Florida, from Miami and Fort Lauderdale to Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville, send documents home for children's Nigerian passports and citizenship registration, land and family property, inheritance, and jobs or further study in Nigeria. Florida companies also do business in Lagos and Abuja. Nigeria is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so Florida documents need authentication and legalization rather than an apostille.
What happens after our Florida step
After we return your document with its Florida authentication certificate, the usual next step is authentication by the U.S. Department of State, followed by legalization by Nigeria's consular office: the Consulate General of Nigeria in Atlanta serves Florida, and the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, D.C. also has a consular section. Confirm the current requirements with the Nigerian office before you send anything. We don't handle, arrange or refer anyone for the federal or Nigerian steps.
We don't handle or arrange the U.S. Department of State or embassy steps.
Who receives it in Nigeria
Florida is served by the Consulate General of Nigeria in Atlanta, whose published jurisdiction includes Florida; the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, D.C. also has a consular section. In Nigeria, Florida documents go to the Nigeria Immigration Service, state probate registries and courts for estates, state lands registries for property, the Corporate Affairs Commission and investment authorities for companies, and employers, universities and professional regulators.
English is Nigeria's official language, so Florida documents in English normally need no translation. If a Florida document is in another language, for example a Spanish-language record or a foreign certificate attached to a Florida affidavit, have it translated into English, certified by the translator, notarized by a different notary and authenticated in Florida along with the original.
We found no published Nigerian rule on document age for these documents. Ask the receiving office, especially for police records and bank statements, which are usually expected to be recent.
What it costs
$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 Nigeria 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).