Single Status Affidavit Authentication for Nigeria

To marry in Nigeria, especially at a marriage registry under the statutory system, a foreign-based party may be asked to show they are free to marry. Florida doesn't issue single-status certificates, so the usual Florida document is a sworn statement of single status before a notary, authenticated and legalized. Ask the registry where you'll marry what it accepts and how recent it must be.

A sworn affidavit with a complete Florida jurat stating that you are not married and are free to marry and, if you were married before, the date, place and court or record that ended that marriage. Names must match your passport, and it must be signed within the window the foreign registry allows.

Use the registry's template if it has one, then swear to it before a Florida notary or through our online notarization add-on: $40 for the first document ($10 notarization fee + $30 technology platform fee) and $20 for each additional document. First confirm that the country accepts a notarized affidavit rather than a consular or government-issued status certificate. Notarization is not included in our $220.

State fee for this document: $10 — included in our price. Full details on the single status affidavit 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).