Apostille for a certified translation of a Florida document

In the U.S., a certified translation is a translation accompanied by the translator's signed statement that it is complete and accurate and that they are competent in both languages. For a foreign authority, the usual way to make that statement official is for the translator to sign it as an affidavit before a Florida notary, who completes a jurat.

The apostille then authenticates the notary's signature and commission. It does not certify the translation's quality or the translator's credentials. That distinction matters when you decide whether this route will work for your destination.

• A foreign court, registry or consulate accepts translations made abroad, but only with the translator's statement authenticated.
• You are submitting an English-language Florida document, such as a birth certificate or diploma, and the authority wants a translation attached to the apostilled original.
• You are using a Florida document in a country whose authorities accept translator affidavits authenticated by apostille.

If you are only translating a document so you can read it yourself, you need no apostille at all.

Many countries, especially civil-law countries, have their own system of official or sworn translators, and their authorities may only accept translations made or certified by one. If so, a Florida translation with an apostille will not help, and the money is better spent on a translator recognized in that country.

Spain is a clear example. Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs grants the title of sworn translator (traductor jurado), and according to the Ministry, translations those translators sign and seal have official character and can be presented to Spanish courts and administrative bodies. See the Ministry page on sworn translation.

Our honest advice: ask the receiving authority two questions before ordering anything. Will you accept a translation made in the United States? And if so, must the translator's statement be notarized and apostilled?

These are separate documents, and usually you need both.

• The original (birth certificate, court record, diploma) is apostilled based on the signature of the official or notary who issued or certified it. Follow the rules for that document, for example our birth certificate or court records pages.
• The translator's affidavit is apostilled based on the Florida notary's signature.

Order matters. Apostille the original first, then have the translator translate the original and the apostille, since many authorities want the apostille translated too. Never staple a translation to a certified original before it is filed with the Florida Department of State; attaching anything to a certified record can get it rejected.

An original plus its translation affidavit is two documents: $380 together.

The Florida Department of State's own FAQ is explicit: the person translating the document cannot be the person who notarizes it. A translator who is also a notary must have a different notary notarize their affidavit.

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.

• The translator notarized their own affidavit. Not allowed in Florida.
• A "certificate of accuracy" with no notarization. Florida cannot apostille a translator's signature alone.
• Translation stapled to the certified original before the original was apostilled.
• Abroad: the country required its own sworn translator, so the apostilled Florida translation was refused even though the apostille itself was valid.
• The apostille was not translated when the receiving authority required it.

• Spain: official translations are made by sworn translators recognized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Check with the authority before using a U.S. translation.
• Italy: consulates and Italian offices have their own rules on translations of apostilled records, so confirm with the specific office.
• Brazil, Mexico and Colombia: ask whether a local official translator is required before paying for a translation in Florida.
• Germany: ask the receiving office what kind of translator it accepts.

If the country where you will use the translation 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.