- Issued by
- The Clerk of Court in the county that granted the adoption (certified final judgment of adoption); for a child born in Florida, the new birt
- Florida state fee
- $20 — included in $220
- Online notarization
- Not applicable — needs a certified copy
- Turnaround
- 5–7 business days, filed in person
Which adoption documents can be apostilled
Florida adoptions leave a paper trail in two places, and each produces a different document:
- Final judgment of adoption. The court order that finalizes the adoption, kept in the circuit court file by the Clerk of Court in the county where the adoption was granted. For an apostille it must be a certified copy, carrying the clerk's certification.
- New birth certificate. After a Florida court reports the adoption, the Bureau of Vital Statistics prepares a new birth certificate for a child born in Florida. It keeps the original file number and lists the adoptive parents without saying they are adoptive. The original certificate is placed under seal.
Many registrations abroad ask for both.
Why a foreign authority wants an apostilled adoption record
A foreign civil registry, court or consulate cannot verify a Florida judge's order or a Florida registrar's signature on its own. The apostille is the Florida Department of State's certificate confirming that the clerk or registrar who signed your copy holds that office. Common reasons families need one:
- Registering the child abroad. A parent who is a citizen of another country often registers the adoption, or the child's birth, with that country's civil registry so the child can be recorded as a family member.
- Citizenship or a passport for the child through a parent who holds another nationality. Rules on whether adopted children qualify vary by country, so read the consulate's own requirements first.
- Recognition of the adoption by a foreign court, for example in an inheritance or family-law matter.
How to get a certified copy you can apostille
The final judgment of adoption
Florida law makes adoption papers and records confidential and open to inspection only on court order (section 63.162, Florida Statutes). You cannot order a copy the way you would a divorce judgment.
The easiest moment to get certified copies is while the case is still open. Court orders in at least two Florida circuits (Orange/Osceola and Hillsborough) direct the clerk to provide certified copies of the final judgment to the adoptive parents' attorney of record on request, during the pending period. If your adoption is recent, ask your adoption attorney to order several certified copies now.
If the case closed years ago, contact the Clerk of Court in the county that granted the adoption and ask exactly what they require to release a certified copy. Expect that you may need to file a request or motion with the court, especially if you are not one of the adoptive parents. You can find every county clerk through the Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers directory.
The copy must carry the clerk's original certification, or the clerk's official electronic certification where the clerk offers it. A plain printout or a photocopy of your own copy will not work.
The post-adoption birth certificate
For a child born in Florida, order a certified copy from the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics or a county health department, or online through VitalChek, the state's official online ordering vendor. It must be signed by the State Registrar. Certificates certified before 2014 are not accepted: the signature must be the current State Registrar's.
Two situations Florida cannot cover. If the child was born in another U.S. state, that state issues the new birth certificate, and it is apostilled by that state, not Florida. If the child was born abroad and was not a U.S. citizen, Florida can prepare a "Certificate of Foreign Birth" on request after a Florida adoption judgment (section 382.017, Florida Statutes). That certificate states on its face that it is not evidence of U.S. citizenship. Call us before ordering it for use abroad so we can confirm the copy you need.
Before you send it: preparation checklist
Check each item before you ship.
- Final judgment is a certified copy from the Florida Clerk of Court, with the clerk's certification and seal (wet-ink or the clerk's official e-certification)
- All pages of the judgment are present and still attached as the clerk issued them; nothing has been unstapled or removed
- Birth certificate is a Florida certified copy signed by the current State Registrar, certified in 2014 or later
- The child was born in Florida (for the birth certificate); births in other states go to that state
- Names and dates on the judgment and the birth certificate match what the foreign authority has on its forms
- Destination country confirmed, so we know whether to request an apostille or a Florida authentication
How your adoption documents move through our office
Price: $220 for one document, $380 for two, and $160 each for three or more. That covers the Florida Department of State fee, the request form, and FedEx both ways inside the U.S. Shipping the finished documents to an address outside the U.S. is a flat $100 per order. Turnaround is 5–7 business days, and we file every order in person in Tallahassee.
Get the certified copies
Order the certified final judgment from the clerk (through your attorney if the case is open) and a current certified birth certificate. Send us a photo of each if you want us to check them first.
Place your order
Order online and tell us the destination country. Two documents are $380 together, which is the usual adoption pairing.
Ship or meet in person
After we review your documents, FedEx emails you a prepaid label to our Tallahassee processing office, or you can book an in-person appointment at our West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa or Clearwater office, Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM, by appointment.
We review and file in person
We check the clerk's certification and the registrar's signature, then walk the documents into the Florida Department of State. Clerk-certified records carry a certificate of incumbency as part of the state fee, which is already in your price.
Returned to you
Your apostilled documents come back by FedEx, 5–7 business days door to door. International delivery is a flat $100 per order.
Common reasons adoption documents get turned back
- An uncertified copy of the judgment. The copy the family received at the hearing is sometimes a conformed or plain copy, not a certified one. Look for the clerk's certification language and seal.
- An older birth certificate. A copy certified before 2014 does not carry the current State Registrar's signature. Order a new one.
- The wrong birth certificate. A child born outside Florida has a new certificate from the birth state. Florida cannot apostille it.
- A translation stapled to the original. Never attach anything to a certified document before it is apostilled. See our certified translation page for how to handle translations.
Common uses by country
Requirements are set by the receiving country, and they change. Use these as starting points and confirm with the consulate that serves Florida.
- Italy, Spain and Germany: families often register a child with the civil registry of a parent's nationality. See Italy, Spain and Germany.
- Mexico, Colombia and the Dominican Republic: registering the child with a parent's home country is common. See Mexico, Colombia and Dominican Republic.
- Philippines and India: family and immigration files may include the adoption judgment. See Philippines and India.
Many countries also want a translation. Ask whether it must come from a translator recognized in that country before paying for one in Florida.
Apostille or Florida authentication: it depends on the country
If the country where you will use your adoption documents is a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, the Florida Department of State attaches an apostille and you are done on the U.S. side. You can check any country on the official HCCH status table.
If the country is not a party (the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Egypt are examples), Florida issues a certificate of authentication instead. We handle that Florida step at the same price and in the same 5–7 business days. Let's be straight with you about what comes after: non-Hague countries then require a U.S. Department of State authentication and legalization by that country's embassy or consulate. We do not handle or arrange those two steps, and we do not refer you to anyone for them. Your receiving authority or the embassy's checklist sets that sequence. Details are on our non-Hague authentication page.