Single Status Affidavit Apostille for Marriage Abroad

An affidavit of single status is a sworn statement in which you declare that you are not currently married and are legally free to marry. Foreign registries call the document they want by different names — constancia de soltería, declaración jurada de soltería, certificate of no impediment, certificate of freedom to marry, or certificate of legal capacity to marry. The idea is the same: a credible statement of your marital status.

If you were married before, "single" means divorced or widowed, and the affidavit says so — with the date and place the marriage ended. Expect the foreign office to ask for the proof too: a certified divorce judgment or a death certificate, each apostilled.

Let's be straight with you: Florida has no certificate that says you are single. The closest thing is the Bureau of Vital Statistics single status statement — a certified "No Record Found" search of Florida marriage records — which some countries accept alongside or instead of a sworn affidavit (see the single-status guide). The Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics issues certified copies of marriage records that exist — its marriage certificate page covers marriages recorded from June 6, 1927 to the present — and certified records of divorces. It doesn't publish a document certifying the absence of a marriage anywhere.

That's why the sworn affidavit became the standard substitute. You make the statement under oath before a Florida notary; the Florida Department of State apostilles the notarization; the foreign registry accepts it as your declaration of status. Some registries also want a certified copy of your divorce or prior marriage records alongside it — that's a separate apostille.

Not every country takes a notarized affidavit. Some specify who must issue the status document. Ecuador's Civil Registry, for example, lists for foreigners a marital-status certificate issued by their consulate, embassy or another competent authority abroad — apostilled, and translated into Spanish if it isn't in Spanish. Read that kind of wording carefully, or ask the registry or your wedding coordinator, before you sign anything.

Also ask about age. Many registries want the statement issued within a recent window before the wedding date. Signing too early can mean signing twice.

Use the registry's template if it has one. If not, include:

$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. Online notarization adds $40 for the first document ($10 notarization fee + $30 technology platform fee) and $20 for each additional document. Need the finished document sent abroad? International return shipping is a flat $100 per order, to any country.

Couples usually order two — one each — so the bundle price of $380 applies.

• Too old — signed months before the wedding and outside the registry's window.
• Prior marriage not disclosed — or disclosed without the date and place it ended. The registry will compare it with your divorce or death record.
• Name mismatch — the affidavit uses a name that doesn't match your passport. If you changed your name, say so and give both.
• Acknowledgment instead of a jurat — the registry wants a sworn statement.
• Wrong issuer — the country required a consular or government document, not a notarized affidavit.
• Notarized in another state — only Florida notarizations get a Florida apostille.

Requests for a sworn single-status statement are especially common for civil weddings in Latin America and the Caribbean — including Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Peru. Requirements differ by civil registry, even within one country, so get the list from the registry, the officiant or your wedding planner. Most also want your apostilled birth certificate and, if you were married before, an apostilled divorce record.

Plan on a translation for Spanish-speaking registries unless your affidavit is already bilingual — ask whether the translation must be done locally.

If the wedding country is a Hague Convention member (check the HCCH status table or our list), the apostille finishes the job. If it isn't, the Florida Department of State issues a certificate of authentication instead, at the same price and turnaround. That country will then require 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 anyone — build that extra time into your wedding plans. More at non-Hague authentication.