Single Status Affidavit Apostille for Portugal

A foreigner marrying in Portugal is normally asked by the conservatória for a certificate of matrimonial capacity from their own country. The United States doesn't issue one, and Florida doesn't issue a certificate of no marriage either, so you'll need whatever substitute the Portuguese registry accepts. A sworn single-status statement before a Florida notary, apostilled, is one possibility, but ask the conservatória handling the marriage before you sign anything, since practices vary. If you were divorced, expect the prior divorce to need Portuguese recognition as well.

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 apostille page.

The Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (IRN) and its Conservatória dos Registos Centrais in Lisbon handle nationality and the transcription of births, marriages and deaths of Portuguese citizens abroad. AIMA, the Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo, which replaced SEF in October 2023, handles residence permits. DGES and public universities recognize degrees, Tribunais da Relação review foreign judgments, and the RNPC issues numbers to foreign companies. Florida is served by the Consular Section of the Embassy of Portugal in Washington, D.C.

Our general rule is a translation certified by the translator, notarized by a separate notary and apostilled in Florida, but for Portugal you often need no translation at all. Civil registries can waive it for English, French or Spanish documents when the official knows the language (book ahead), and IRN nationality forms and DGES do the same. When Portugal does require one, the IRN expects it certified in Portugal by a notary, registry officer, lawyer, solicitador or recognized chamber of commerce, or by a Portuguese consulate in the issuing country.

Portugal doesn't publish one age limit for every foreign document; ask the conservatória, AIMA or the consulate. Criminal records are the most time-sensitive, and nationality files filed after May 19, 2026 follow the new law, while files pending on that date keep the old rules.

Consular office serving Florida: Consular Section of the Embassy of Portugal in Washington, D.C. (Florida also has Portuguese honorary consular offices).

$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 Portugal 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).