Quick answer
Some foreign licenses can be converted to a Qatari license, depending on current rules for your nationality and license. Florida issues an authentication certificate for Qatar, not an apostille — $220, 5–7 business days.
- Issued by
- A Florida notary, notarizing your sworn statement that the attached license copy is true.
- Florida state fee
- $10 — included in $220
- Route
- Florida authentication → U.S. Department of State → Qatar embassy
- Online notarization
- Available as an add-on
- Consulate serving Florida
- Embassy of the State of Qatar, Washington, D.C.
- Translation
- We found no single published Qatari rule on translating English documents.
How a Florida driver's license copy is used in Qatar
Some foreign licenses can be converted to a Qatari license, depending on current rules for your nationality and license. Attesting a Florida license copy is rarely required; the traffic authority usually examines the license itself. If an office does ask for a certified copy, a notarized true-copy statement can be authenticated in Florida. Ask the traffic authority what it requires for your license class before you spend money on any step of the chain.
Getting a driver's license copy Florida will authenticate
A front-and-back copy of your current license attached to your sworn statement, signed in front of a Florida notary who completes a jurat. If the foreign office wants your driving history instead, it needs FLHSMV's certified record, unaltered. The plastic card itself can't be apostilled.
Sign the sworn statement before any 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. For a certified driving record, order from FLHSMV online or with form HSMV 90511, which lists $10 and about two weeks of processing. Notarization and FLHSMV fees are not included in our $220.
State fee for this document: $10 — included in our price. Full details on the driver's license copy page.
What happens after the Florida certificate — Qatar
After we return your document with its Florida authentication certificate, it goes to the U.S. Department of State for authentication, then to the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Washington, D.C. for attestation. The last step is official approval by Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Qatar; the Ministry also runs a Complete Attestation Outside Qatar service that forwards a foreign document to the Qatari mission in the issuing country and back. We don't handle, arrange or refer anyone for these 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 Qatar — and translation
Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives the final approval to foreign documents for use in Qatar. The documents are then used by the Ministry of Interior for residence permits, the Ministry of Labour and employers for work permits, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education for degree recognition, the Ministry of Public Health for healthcare licensing, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for companies, and the courts. In the U.S., attestation is done by the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Washington, D.C.
We found no single published Qatari rule on translating English documents. Qatari employers often process English documents as they are, while courts and some ministries ask for an Arabic translation. Ask the receiving office before you translate. If it accepts a Florida translation, the translator certifies it, a different notary notarizes it, and it's authenticated in Florida along with the original.
We found no published Qatari rule on document age. Employers and the Ministry of Interior may want recent vital records and police checks, so ask your sponsor how recent each document must be.
Consular office serving Florida: Embassy of the State of Qatar, Washington, D.C.
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 driver's license copys get rejected
- Notary stamp on a copy with no certificate wording
- Statement signed before the notary session
- Notarized in another state
- Uncertified driving record printout
What it costs for Qatar
$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 Qatar 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).