How to Apostille a Florida Divorce Decree for Use Abroad

Step 1: identify exactly which document you need

Before requesting anything, confirm with the receiving authority abroad whether it accepts the Dissolution of Marriage Certificate, a summary issued by Florida's Bureau of Vital Statistics, or requires the full Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage, the court order issued by the clerk of court in the county where the case was filed. Both documents are apostille-eligible, but they aren't interchangeable with every authority. Our guide on the divorce certificate vs. the Final Judgment explains in detail when each one applies.

Step 2: request the certified copy from the correct source

If you need the summary certificate, it's requested from the Bureau of Vital Statistics at the Florida Department of Health, and it's available for divorces recorded from June 6, 1927 to the present. If you need the full Final Judgment, it must be requested directly from the clerk of court in the specific Florida county where the case was filed, not from another county and not from the Bureau of Vital Statistics, which does not hold the full case file.

In both cases, the request can be made by mail without needing to be physically present in Florida; see our guide on getting a certified divorce decree when you no longer live in the state for the details.

Step 3: process the apostille through the Florida Department of State

Once you have the certified copy, the document is submitted to the apostille section of the Florida Department of State for authentication. The apostille is a certificate confirming that the signature and seal of the official who issued the document, whether the State Registrar, the Clerk of the County Courts, or the county clerk of court, are genuine. Florida doesn't print an expiration date on the document or the apostille; the acceptable validity period is set by the receiving authority abroad.

Apostille or consular legalization?

If the United States and the destination country are both parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, the document is authenticated through an apostille, without additional consular steps. If the destination country doesn't participate in the Convention, it may instead require a consular legalization chain with extra steps at the relevant embassy or consulate. Confirm the specific status of your country before starting the process.

Common mistakes

The most common mistakes in this process are avoidable if the requirements are confirmed before requesting any document.

• Requesting the summary certificate when the receiving authority requires the full Final Judgment, or vice versa.
• Trying to apostille a photocopy instead of an original certified copy; see more in our guide on photocopies of divorce judgments.
• Requesting the certificate from the wrong county, instead of the county where the case was actually filed.
• Not allowing enough time when the divorce was recent.

Planning around timing

Issuance and apostille processing times vary with each office's workload at a given time, so it's best not to promise a fixed date to a third party. If the divorce was finalized less than about 60 days ago, the state-level summary certificate may not be available yet, though the clerk of court can typically issue a certified copy of the Final Judgment sooner. When the document is needed by a specific deadline abroad, start the process weeks in advance and confirm current processing times directly with the Florida Department of State.