Preparing Your Florida Marriage Record for Use Abroad

If you live in Fort Myers and need to present a Florida marriage certificate in another country, you may be asked to obtain an apostille before the record will be accepted.

Marriage certificates are commonly needed internationally for dual citizenship, residency applications, immigration matters, registering a marriage abroad, changing marital status, family matters, inheritance, and other legal or administrative procedures.

Before beginning the apostille process, it's important to determine whether the marriage record you have is the appropriate version for authentication.

A photocopy, decorative marriage certificate, or other unofficial copy is not the same as an appropriately issued or certified Florida marriage record. If you're unsure what you have, we can review your document before you send it and help identify the next step.

Does Your Marriage Certificate Qualify?

Where and how your marriage record was issued matters.

If your marriage took place in Florida, we'll review the certificate you have and determine whether it appears ready for the Florida apostille process or whether you may need to obtain a different version first.

This is particularly helpful when you've had the certificate for years, aren't sure whether it's certified, or have been given specific requirements by a consulate, attorney, foreign government agency, or other receiving authority.

Tell us where the marriage occurred and the country where the certificate will be used. That gives us a much better starting point for reviewing your situation.

Getting Your Certificate to Us From Fort Myers

Once your marriage certificate is ready, you have two convenient options.

We can arrange local document pickup in the Fort Myers area, or we can send you a prepaid shipping label if you'd rather send the certificate to us.

We then coordinate the Florida apostille process and arrange tracked return delivery.

If your apostilled marriage certificate needs to continue directly overseas, international shipping can also be arranged.

Rush processing is available in as little as 1–2 business days for qualifying documents.

Have questions before sending your certificate? Call or text (239) 273-4708. Assistance is available in English and Spanish.