Adoption Documents Apostille for Philippines

This is rare. It comes up when a Filipino parent in Florida adopts a child and wants the adoption recognized for Philippine purposes, such as the child's Philippine citizenship or civil records, or when an adopted person must prove the relationship in a Philippine estate. The Philippine side will usually want the Florida final judgment of adoption, certified by the Clerk of Court, and possibly the amended birth certificate. Florida adoption records are confidential, so only the parties can get certified copies. Philippine counsel should confirm the recognition route.

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 apostille page.

For Florida residents, civil registry reports (Report of Birth, Report of Marriage) and consular notarization go through the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., which lists Florida in its jurisdiction. In the Philippines, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) holds civil records, Regional Trial Courts handle recognition of foreign divorces, Registries of Deeds record land transactions, and the Bureau of Immigration handles visas for foreign spouses.

English is an official language of the Philippines and Florida documents are issued in English, so Florida documents generally don't need a translation there. If a Florida document is in another language (for example, a notarized statement written in Spanish), our standard applies: a translator's certification, notarized by a different notary, with its own Florida apostille.

We could not verify a general age limit for Florida documents in the Philippines. Checklists change, so read the Embassy's current list before you order, and ask Philippine offices such as the Bureau of Immigration how recent they want police records.

Consular office serving Florida: Embassy of the Philippines in Washington, D.C.

$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 Philippines 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).