Quick answer
A sheriff's clearance letter covers a single Florida county, and Spanish offices rarely ask for one. 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 1978
- Online notarization
- Not applicable — needs a certified copy
- Consulate serving Florida
- Consulate General of Spain in Miami
- Translation
- Our general rule is a translation certified by the translator, notarized by a different notary and apostilled in Florida.
How a Florida sheriff clearance letter is used in Spain
A sheriff's clearance letter covers a single Florida county, and Spanish offices rarely ask for one. Visa checklists from Spanish consulates point to the FBI, and the New York consulate's non-lucrative list expressly rejects local police checks. Where a sheriff's letter can still make sense: a Spanish school, au pair agency or volunteer program that asks for a local record in addition to a national one. If that's your case, ask the sheriff's office to notarize the letter when it's issued; otherwise it can't be apostilled.
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 Spain — and translation
The main receivers are the Registro Civil (in Spain, or the Registro Civil Central) for marriages, births and deaths; Spanish notarios for property, powers and inheritances; the Ministry of Justice for nationality files; universities and the education ministry for degree recognition; and Spanish consulates in the U.S. for visas and civil registrations. The Consulate General of Spain in Miami serves Florida.
Our general rule is a translation certified by the translator, notarized by a different notary and apostilled in Florida. Spain may instead require a traducción jurada by a sworn translator appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which publishes a searchable list. For nationality files, the Ministry of Justice also accepts translations done or checked at Spanish consulates abroad. Translate after the apostille and include the apostille page.
Spain has no single expiry for apostilled documents; each registry, notario and consulate sets its own, and many treat civil-status certificates and criminal records issued several months earlier as stale. Order fresh certified copies close to your filing date and ask the receiving office how recent they must be.
Consular office serving Florida: Consulate General of Spain 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 Spain
$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 Spain 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).