Adoption Documents Authentication for Nigeria

Families with a Florida adoption may need it recognized in Nigeria, for a child's Nigerian passport, for inheritance, or for school. The key document is the certified final judgment of adoption from the Clerk of Court where it was granted; the amended birth certificate alone may not explain the change of parents. Ask the consulate or the Nigerian office what it needs before you start.

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.

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. See how non-Hague authentication works.

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.

Consular office serving Florida: Consulate General of Nigeria in Atlanta (its jurisdiction includes Florida).

$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).