Apostilles authenticate the seals and signatures of officials on public documents such as birth certificates, court orders, or any other document issued by a federal agency or certified by an American or foreign consul. An apostille certifies the document(s), so the document can be recognized in foreign countries that are members of the Hague Treaty.

Countries that are participants of the Apostille Convention are approximately 121(Hague Treaty Convention 12) and can be found here: HCCH

In Florida we must send these documents in to the Secretary of State for such authentication. Also the following requirements need to be met:

Notarize each document in front of a notary public:

For notaries public commissioned through the state: Documents must only be certified by the secretary of state in the state where the document was notarized.

Get your document certified by the secretary of state.

If you do not have the correct notarization(s) before you submit your documents, we will not be able to process your request.

All seals and signatures must be originals

Copies cannot be accepted unless they are “true certified copies” from a notary public. Please note that birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, divorce decrees, court documents, and federally-issued documents cannot be certified by a notary public as “true copies.”  These documents must be certified by the secretary of state.

All documents in a foreign language must be translated into English by a certified translator and notarized as a true translation.

Getting documents to the Secretary of State requires some turn-around time. It helps significantly to have a courier hand deliver them. This is where apostille services come in. They notarize, & express mail the forms to a courier who resides near the capital. This can significantly cut down the turnaround time from 3 weeks to 1 week. Or even a few days!

What are the most common forms needing Apostilles?

• Birth Certificates
• Death Certificates
• Marriage Certificates
• Divorce Decree
• Single Status Affidavit
• Background Checks (Local, State, FBI)
• Copy of Passport
• Copy of Driver License
• Power of Attorney
• Real Estate
• Corporate Power of Attorney
• Transcripts
• Diplomas
• Authorization Letter
• Travel Consent Letter
• Articles of Incorporation
• Certification of Origin

apostille services near me

A signing agent is a notary public who has undergone special training and background screening to get extra credentialing and certifications to close loans for attorneys, title agents and escrow officers.

Loan documents for home purchase, sale, reverse mortgage, Heloc or refinancing can be complicated & confusing. A lot of signatures  & forms to be notarized. Typically The title company arranges for a closing agent to come out and facilitate the proper signing and execution of your loan. General notaries often are unfamiliar with with this process. In addition those credentials Notary signing agents carry E & O (errors & omission) Insurance.

Failing to correctly sign and notarized a loan document will result in closing delays & rejected forms. If you find yourself needing a notary for these circumstance, you old to well to seek out a Certified Signing Agent. Your bank notary just isn’t going to cut it.

Another consideration worth mentioning is the printing and delivering of documents. If your title attorney just emails you the files, be forewarned they may need to be printed on legal size paper, & with a laser printer as Inkjet usually isn‘t acceptable.

These are services, and the ability to scan & fax the documents back for closing can all be done for you for a reasonable fee. We meet you in the comfort of your home, work, the doctors office, hospital, jail, on your yacht, at a coffee shop…you get the picture!

Here is a list of lenders we work quite regularly with & are quite intimately familiar with:

nited Wholesale Mortgage

Caliber Home Loans, Inc.

loanDepot, LLC

AmeriHome Mortgage Company, LLC

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation

Flagstar Bank

Guaranteed Rate

NewRez, LLC

Home Point Mortgage Corporation

Guild Mortgage

Homebridge Financial Services

Streams Lending

CMG Financial

Movement Mortgage

Finance of America Mortgage

PrimeLending, A PlainsCapital Company

New American Funding

CrossCountry Mortgage, LLC

American Pacific Mortgage

NorthPointe Bank

DHI Mortgage Company

Academy Mortgage Corporation

Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, inc.

LendUS LLC

Supreme Lending

Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions

Citywide Home Loans

Mortgage Network, Inc.

LeaderOne Financal Corp.

V.I.P. Mortgage, Inc

On Q Financial

SecurityNational Mortgage Company

DAS Acquisition Company, LLC

TowneBank Mortgage

McLean Mortgage Corporation

Homeside Financial, LLC

Synergy One Lending

JFQ Lending

Nations Lending Corporation

First Savings Mortgage

Golden Empire Mortgage, Inc

Trident Mortgage Company

MiMutual Mortgage

Highlands Residential Mortgage

First Heritage Mortgage, LLC

MVB Mortgage

Atlantic Coast Mortgage, LLC

Mountain West Financial, Inc

American Financial Resources, Inc

Homeowners Financial Group USA, LLC

So just what exactly is a Notary, and what do they do? Well a Notary is a Public Official of integrity duly sworn &  commissioned by the Governor of the State. They serve the public as an impartial witness in performing a variety of official fraud-deterrent acts related to the signing of important documents Like Mortgage loans,etc.

Other Notarial acts include matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business. A notary’s main functions are to administer jurats, oaths and affirmations, take affidavits and declarations as well as authenticate the execution of certain classes of documents, take acknowledgments of deeds and other conveyances, protest notes and bills of exchange, provide notice of foreign drafts, and perform marriages as a Wedding Officiant.

Notaries carry a stamp (or seal) with the commission number unique to them by the state. This seal is much like a badge. If stolen or missing must be reported to the state. Likewise anyone misusing the notaries stamp is committing a crime. In short anywhere you may see a form with an indication it needs to be sealed or ‘signed before’ is a good indication you need a Notary. While a notary is not an attorney and can’t provide legal advice they are performing legal services and affixing a seal to legal documents usually drafted by attorneys.

Good news is, in this modern day of the internet you can usually acquire a good many legal forms (like Power of Attorney) for very low cost or even free. Having access to this can save a small fortune in legal fees, that then only need a rather affordable notarization to be in effect.