Why the school has to notarize it
An apostille doesn't certify your degree. It certifies a signature: the Florida Department of State confirms that the official or notary who signed the document is who they claim to be. A diploma with printed signatures, or a transcript printed on security paper, gives the state nothing it can verify. A notarized signature does, because the Department checks every Florida notary against its commission database.
That's why the state's accepted documents list describes school records in terms of who signs and who notarizes, not what the paper looks like. It's also why our own rule is simple: we file diplomas and transcripts that were notarized by the school, with a correct and complete notarial certificate. A record that leaves the registrar's office already notarized almost never comes back with a problem.
One more reason you can't just walk a transcript into any notary's office: under Chapter 117 of the Florida Statutes, a Florida notary may not attest to a copy of student records kept by public education offices. A notary at your bank can't make a public university transcript apostille-ready. The registrar can.
Public and private schools follow different rules
The Florida Department of State treats public and private institutions differently. Know which kind your school is before you call the registrar.
| Florida public school or university | Florida private school or university | |
|---|---|---|
| What the state asks for | A notarized transcript signed by the School Registrar or an issuing official | A printed, notarized transcript attested to be a copy, signed by the student or the custodian |
| Who signs before the notary | The registrar or another issuing official of the school | The custodian of records (the registrar) or, per the state's wording, the student |
| Notarial certificate | Full notarial statement required | Full notarial statement required |
| Examples | School district high schools, state universities, Florida College System colleges | Private universities, private high schools |
For private schools the state's wording allows the student to sign the true-copy statement. We still ask for the school's custodian to sign it, because foreign universities, ministries and credential reviewers put far more weight on a statement from the institution than on one from the graduate. If your private school has closed or truly won't do it, call us before you go the student-signed route, and confirm with your receiving institution that it will accept it.
The two notarial certificates registrars use
Florida's statutory sample certificates are published by the Department of State on its notary certificate samples page. Registrars almost always use one of two.
Jurat (oath or affirmation)
Use this when the registrar signs a statement and swears or affirms that it is true, for example: “I certify that the attached transcript is a true and correct copy of the official academic record of [student name].” The notary confirms the registrar swore to the statement and signed it. This is the most common form for transcripts and for diploma copies, and it is the natural fit for the “attested as a copy” statement a private school's custodian signs.
Acknowledgment in a representative capacity
Use this when the registrar signs a document on behalf of the institution, such as a degree verification letter or a certification issued in the university's name. The registrar acknowledges signing it “as Registrar for” the university. The certificate names both the person and the institution, which tells the reader the signature carries the school's authority.
Either form works for an apostille if it's complete. What fails is a bare notary stamp and signature with no wording, a certificate missing the county, or one where neither the physical presence nor the online notarization box is marked. The certificate must be in English and carry the notary's original signature and seal.
- Venue: State of Florida, County of ___ filled in
- Physical presence or online notarization box checked
- Date of the notarization
- Name of the official who signed (and, for a representative acknowledgment, the title and the school)
- Personally known, or the type of ID produced
- Notary's original signature and printed, typed or stamped name
- Notary seal showing the commission number and expiration date
- Certificate written in English
COUNTY OF ________
Sworn to (or affirmed) and subscribed before me by means of [ ] physical presence or [ ] online notarization, this (numeric date) day of (month), (year), by (name of person making statement).
(NOTARY SEAL)
(Signature of Notary Public-State of Florida)
(Name of Notary Typed, Printed, or Stamped)
Personally Known ______ OR Produced Identification ______
Type of Identification Produced ________________
COUNTY OF ________
The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me by means of [ ] physical presence or [ ] online notarization, this (numeric date) day of (month), (year), by (name of person) as (type of authority, e.g. officer, trustee, attorney in fact) for (name of party on behalf of whom instrument was executed).
(NOTARY SEAL)
(Signature of Notary Public-State of Florida)
(Name of Notary Typed, Printed, or Stamped)
Personally Known ______ OR Produced Identification ______
Type of Identification Produced ________________
How to request an apostille-ready record from the registrar
Most Florida registrars have handled this request many times, and several run a dedicated “notarized for apostille” request with its own form, photo ID requirement, fee and processing window. Use the right words and you'll get the right document.
Confirm what the receiving side wants
Ask the foreign university, employer or ministry exactly which records it needs: the diploma, the transcript, or both, and whether it also wants a sealed copy sent directly from the school. Check whether the country is a Hague member; if it isn't, Florida issues an authentication certificate instead of an apostille.
Ask for a notarized copy “for apostille”
Tell the registrar's office you need the record notarized for a Florida apostille. Ask that the registrar or another issuing official sign it in front of a Florida notary and that the notary attach a complete Florida notarial certificate.
Ask for it unsealed
Request that the notarized record be released to you (or mailed to you) unsealed, or be prepared to open it yourself. The apostille is attached to the notarized document, not to an envelope.
Check the certificate when it arrives
Compare the notary block against the checklist above before you send it anywhere. A missing county or unmarked presence box is much easier to fix at the registrar's counter than after a rejection.
Send it to us or bring it in
Order online and ship it with the prepaid FedEx label sent after we review your documents, or bring it to an in-person appointment in West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa or Clearwater. We review it, file it in person in Tallahassee, and return it in 5–7 business days.
The sealed-envelope problem
Many foreign schools and credential reviewers want “official transcripts in a sealed envelope.” An apostille can't satisfy that request on its own, because an apostille is attached to the notarized document itself. It can't be attached to an unopened sealed envelope, and the state has to see the notary's certificate to verify it.
So when both are needed, treat them as two separate orders from the registrar:
- Sealed official transcript, sent the way the receiving institution directs, usually straight from the school.
- Notarized transcript for apostille, released to you unsealed, apostilled, and then submitted with your file.
If you're told only “apostilled transcript, sealed,” ask the receiving institution which of the two it actually means. That one email can save you a second round of orders.
Diplomas: send a notarized copy, keep your original
Your framed diploma carries printed signatures of university officers, not a notarized signature, so the original isn't apostille-ready by itself. The usual route is for the registrar to prepare a copy of the diploma with a signed statement that it is a true copy of the diploma the school issued, notarized with a jurat. Some schools issue a degree verification letter signed in the university's name and notarized with a representative acknowledgment instead. Either way, ask your receiving institution which one it wants.
This also protects your original. The apostille is permanently attached to whatever document is filed, and that document usually stays abroad. Keep the original diploma at home.
Lost your diploma? Only the school can issue a replacement. Order it, then ask for the notarized copy for apostille in the same request if the registrar allows it.
Schools outside Florida go to their own state
The apostille follows the notary's commission, not where you live today. A transcript from a Georgia university, notarized by a Georgia notary, is apostilled by Georgia's competent authority, even if you've lived in Miami for years. The Florida Department of State's apostille page says the same: documents issued in another state, or signed by a notary in another state, go to that state.
The reverse catches people too. If your Florida school uses a records office in another state and the registrar signs before a notary commissioned there, that record has to be apostilled in that other state. Look at the notary seal: if it doesn't say Florida, we can't file it in Tallahassee.
Once your record is notarized
Send it to us. We review the notarial certificate before filing, file it in person at the Florida Department of State, and return it in 5–7 business days. Pricing is all-inclusive (state fee, application and FedEx both ways inside the U.S.): $220 for one document, $380 for two (the usual diploma-plus-transcript pair) and $160 each for three or more. Non-Hague authentication costs the same. If you need the finished documents shipped abroad, international return shipping is a flat $100 per order.
See diploma and transcript apostille for the service page, or start an online order.