- Issued by
- The Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations (Sunbiz), as a certified copy of the articles of incorporation or, for an LLC, the
- Florida state fee
- $10 — included in $220
- Online notarization
- Not applicable — needs a certified copy
- Turnaround
- 5–7 business days, filed in person
Articles of incorporation and articles of organization
Your company's founding document is filed with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations — the office behind Sunbiz. A corporation files articles of incorporation; an LLC files articles of organization. Both show the entity's legal name, filing date, document number and, depending on the filing, its principal address, registered agent and the people who formed it.
If the company changed its name, purpose or structure later, those changes live in separate filings — articles of amendment, mergers, conversions. A foreign registry comparing your articles with your current name will want those too.
Why foreign registries and banks want it apostilled
A foreign company registry, notary or bank can't verify a Florida filing on its own. The apostille is the Florida Secretary of State's certification of the official who signed the certified copy, which turns your articles into a document the foreign side can rely on without calling Tallahassee.
Typical reasons:
- Registering a subsidiary or branch — the foreign shareholder (your Florida company) has to prove it exists.
- Opening a corporate bank account abroad — know-your-customer checks on the parent company.
- Buying property or signing contracts abroad in the company's name.
- Bidding on foreign tenders or registering as a foreign supplier.
The only version that can be apostilled
The Florida Department of State apostilles an original certified copy issued by the Division of Corporations — not a printout of your Sunbiz filing and not a photocopy. A notary can't fix that: Florida notaries may not attest copies of public records, and Sunbiz filings are public records.
You can order a certified copy by written request to the Division, giving the entity name, document number, the document type (for example, articles of incorporation) and its filing date, with a check or money order payable to the Florida Department of State. Current fees are listed on the corporate and LLC fee pages — at this writing, $8.75 for a corporation's certified copy and $30 for an LLC's.
There's a faster route: the Florida Department of State lets you submit the certified-copy request and the apostille request together, paid with two separate checks — one for the certified copy, one for the $10 apostille. That's how we handle most corporate orders.
Before you order
Gather this so the right document gets certified:
- Exact legal name of the entity, as shown on Sunbiz
- Six- or twelve-digit document number
- Which filing you need: original articles, plus any amendments, name changes or conversions
- Filing date of each document
- Company status is active — an administratively dissolved entity is a red flag for any foreign bank
- Whether the foreign side also wants a certificate of status (good standing) — most do
- Whether it wants a board resolution or officer's certificate, which you sign before a notary
- The destination country, so we know whether it gets an apostille or a non-Hague authentication
How we handle it
$220 per document, $380 for two, or $160 each for three or more — the $10 or $20 state fee, the request form and FedEx shipping both ways inside the U.S. are included. The Division of Corporations' own fee for a new certified copy is separate from the apostille fee; we confirm the total before we file. Need the finished document sent abroad? International return shipping is a flat $100 per order, to any country.
Tell us what you have
Already holding a certified copy from the Division? Order online and ship it on our prepaid FedEx label. Don't have one? Give us the entity name and document number and we'll request it with the apostille.
Add the companion documents
Most foreign files pair the articles with a certificate of status and a signed resolution. Resolutions can be notarized through our online notarization add-on — ideal when the signing officer is traveling.
Filed in person in Tallahassee
Our team presents the request at the Florida Department of State counter in Tallahassee, with the correct separate payments.
Returned together
All documents come back as one set in 5–7 business days, by FedEx in the U.S. or to your foreign lawyer or bank for the $100 international fee.
Common problems with corporate apostilles
- Sunbiz printout or photocopy — not a certified copy, so it can't be apostilled.
- Notarized copy of the articles — a notary can't certify a copy of a public record, so the state won't apostille it.
- Only the original articles, no amendments — the foreign registry sees a different company name than the one on your application.
- Entity inactive — not an apostille rejection, but foreign banks will stop there. Check status and reinstate first.
- Old certified copy — some foreign offices want a recently issued copy. Ask before you reuse one from years ago.
Where Florida companies take their articles
- Mexico — setting up a Mexican company with a U.S. shareholder, or buying property through a company; documents are typically translated in Mexico after the apostille.
- Colombia, Brazil and Chile — branch registrations and local subsidiaries for Florida trading and logistics companies.
- Germany and Spain — commercial register filings and bank onboarding.
- China — joined the Apostille Convention in 2023, so Florida corporate documents for Chinese use now get an apostille.
Your foreign lawyer or bank will tell you which filings and which translations they need. Ask before you order, so everything is apostilled in one trip.
Hague vs. non-Hague countries
For Hague members (see the HCCH status table), the apostille is the end of the Florida process. For non-Hague countries — the United Arab Emirates is a frequent one for company formation — the Florida Department of State issues a certificate of authentication for the same $220 and 5–7 days. The country then requires a U.S. Department of State authentication and legalization by its embassy or consulate. We don't handle or arrange those steps and don't refer them out. Read non-Hague authentication before you plan your timeline.