Quick answer
Employment letters from Florida employers are used in Nigeria to prove experience for a job or professional license, and to support a change of profession on a Nigerian passport, which the Atlanta consulate lists among its citizenship services. Florida issues an authentication certificate for Nigeria, not an apostille — $220, 5–7 business days.
- Issued by
- Your employer (HR, a manager or an officer), signing on company letterhead before a Florida notary.
- Florida state fee
- $10 — included in $220
- Route
- Florida authentication → U.S. Department of State → Nigeria embassy
- Online notarization
- Available as an add-on
- Consulate serving Florida
- Consulate General of Nigeria in Atlanta (its jurisdiction includes Florida)
- Translation
- English is Nigeria's official language, so Florida documents in English normally need no translation.
How a Florida employment letter is used in Nigeria
Employment letters from Florida employers are used in Nigeria to prove experience for a job or professional license, and to support a change of profession on a Nigerian passport, which the Atlanta consulate lists among its citizenship services. Ask the consulate what evidence it needs. The letter should be on letterhead, state your title and dates, and be signed before a notary by someone authorized.
Getting a employment letter Florida will authenticate
A letter on company letterhead with the signer's name and title, signed in front of a Florida notary who completes an acknowledgment in a representative capacity (naming the company) or a jurat. The certificate needs venue, presence or online box, date, ID type and a seal with an active commission, and the contents must match what the consulate requires.
Send HR the consulate's required wording first. If HR is outside Florida, the signer can join our online notarization session with a Florida-commissioned online notary from anywhere: $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.
State fee for this document: $10 — included in our price. Full details on the employment letter page.
What happens after the Florida certificate — Nigeria
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.
Who receives it in Nigeria — and translation
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).
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 authentication certificate.
Returned to you
Back in 5–7 business days — anywhere in the U.S., or abroad for a flat $100.
Why employment letters get rejected
- Notarized in another state at the employer's headquarters
- Acknowledgment that doesn't state the signer's capacity
- Printed, digitally signed PDF with no notarization
- Certificate missing the presence box or ID line
What it costs for Nigeria
$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).