Florida Certificate of Status Apostille

Many states call it a "certificate of good standing." Florida calls it a certificate of status. It's issued by the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations (Sunbiz), and certifies from the Division's records that a corporation, LLC or partnership exists under Florida law and that its status is active as of the date the certificate is issued.

Unlike your articles of incorporation, which show how the company started, the certificate of status is a snapshot of today. That's exactly why foreign institutions ask for it — and why they care about its date.

A bank compliance team in Madrid or a company registry in Bogotá can't confirm a Florida certificate on its own. The apostille is the Florida Secretary of State's certification that makes the certificate usable abroad. You'll typically need it to:

• register a foreign subsidiary or branch of your Florida company;
• open or keep a corporate bank account abroad;
• sign a foreign contract, distribution agreement or tender that requires proof of existence;
• record property owned by the company in a foreign registry.

Sunbiz offers two ways to get a certificate of status. You can order online with the entity's document number and a card, and the Division emails the certificate as a PDF; anyone can check its authenticity using the tracking number printed at the bottom. Or you can request it by mail with a check or money order — the listed fee is $8.75 for a corporation, $5 for an LLC and $8.75 for partnerships.

For the apostille, the Florida Department of State's accepted-documents page asks for the original certificate of status (not a photocopy) — or an apostille request submitted with a separate certificate of status request and fee, paid with two separate checks. Let's be straight with you: a printout of an emailed PDF is the kind of document that starts arguments at the counter. Requesting a new certificate together with the apostille avoids that question entirely and gives you the freshest possible date. That's our default.

The certificate speaks only for the day it was issued. Foreign banks, notaries and registries commonly set their own maximum age for a good-standing certificate, and the limits differ from one institution to another. Ask yours for the exact number of days, then work backward:

• order the certificate last — after your other documents are ready;
• allow 5–7 business days for the apostille, plus shipping and any translation;
• if your foreign process drags on, expect to order a new certificate and apostille.

A certificate can only say "active" if the company is. Florida annual reports carry a $400 late fee after May 1 for most for-profit entities, and companies that still haven't filed are administratively dissolved in late September. Check first:

$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's certificate-of-status fee is a separate state charge; we confirm it with you before filing. Need the finished document sent abroad? International return shipping is a flat $100 per order, to any country.

• Photocopy or scan — the state needs the original certificate or a new one issued with the apostille.
• Company not active — a missed annual report shows up the moment the certificate is issued.
• Too old for the foreign bank — the apostille is fine, but the certificate's date is outside their window.
• Name mismatch — the foreign application uses a trade name or an old name. Use the exact name on record, and add certified amendments if the name changed.
• A good-standing letter from someone other than the Division — accountant or registered-agent letters aren't certificates of status.

Expect a request for a recent, apostilled certificate when a Florida company sets up or banks in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Spain, Germany or Italy. Foreign notaries often pair it with apostilled articles and an apostilled resolution naming who may sign for the company — plan all three in one order to get the $160-per-document price.

Translation requirements vary: some institutions accept English, others need a translation made locally after the apostille. Ask before you order.

Hague Convention members (see the HCCH status table) accept the Florida apostille directly. Non-members receive a Florida certificate of authentication instead — same $220, same 5–7 days — and then require a U.S. Department of State authentication and embassy or consulate legalization. We don't handle or arrange those two steps and don't refer them out. Because those extra steps take time, freshness limits are harder to meet for non-Hague countries — ask the receiving party how it counts the certificate's age. See non-Hague authentication.