Quick answer
A sheriff's clearance letter covers only one Florida county, so for Peru it's a fallback rather than a first choice. One Florida apostille is all the U.S. side needs — $220, 5–7 business days.
- Issued by
- The records section of the Florida county sheriff's office where you live or lived, with its employee signing before a Florida notary when the letter is issued.
- Florida state fee
- $10 — included in $220
- Route
- Apostille only — Hague member since 2010
- Online notarization
- Not applicable — needs a certified copy
- Consulate serving Florida
- Consulate General of Peru in Miami
- Translation
- Our standard for a translation is a translator's certification, notarized by a different notary, with its own Florida apostille.
How a Florida sheriff clearance letter is used in Peru
A sheriff's clearance letter covers only one Florida county, so for Peru it's a fallback rather than a first choice. It comes up when Migraciones or a Peruvian employer asks for a local police certificate, or when someone has lived in the same county for years and the office accepts a local record. Request it from the sheriff's office where you live and ask for the letter to be notarized when it's issued; a letter without notarization can't be apostilled. Ask the Peruvian office first whether a county-level record is enough.
Getting a sheriff clearance letter Florida will apostille
An original letter on the sheriff's office letterhead, signed by its records employee and notarized when issued, with a complete Florida notarial certificate and seal. A plain printout, an emailed PDF or a letter you take to a notary afterwards can't be apostilled.
Contact the records section of the sheriff's office, say the letter is for an apostille and ask for the notarized version; each office sets its own process, fees and ID rules. Sheriff's office fees are not included in our $220.
State fee for this document: $10 — included in our price. Full details on the sheriff clearance letter apostille page.
Who receives it in Peru — and translation
RENIEC and Peruvian consulates register births, marriages and deaths that happened abroad. SUNARP (the national public registries) registers powers of attorney, property and companies, usually through a Peruvian notary. Migraciones handles residence and minors' travel authorizations, and SUNEDU recognizes foreign university degrees. In Florida, the Consulate General of Peru in Miami serves the local community.
Our standard for a translation is a translator's certification, notarized by a different notary, with its own Florida apostille. Peruvian offices may instead require their own translator: SUNARP asks for a translation by a traductor público juramentado (sworn public translator), RENIEC refers to translation through Peru's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and SUNEDU asks for an official certified translation. Ask the office that will receive your document which one it accepts, and translate after the apostille.
Peru sets some hard clocks: a Florida marriage registered at RENIEC instead of the consulate must be registered within 90 days of entering Peru, and Migraciones treats notarial and consular travel authorizations for minors as valid for 90 days from issue and usable once. For other documents, ask the receiving office how recent it wants them.
Consular office serving Florida: Consulate General of Peru 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 your document
Drop the envelope at any FedEx location.
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 sheriff clearance letters get rejected
- Letter not notarized
- Notarized later by a notary who didn't witness the signature
- Scan or copy instead of the original letter
- Older than the receiving authority's age limit
What it costs for Peru
$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 Peru 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).