Processing Time
Handoff to hand-back, because the document is carried to the Department of State counter rather than posted to it.
Overview
The clock on a mailed apostille has three parts, and two of them have nothing to do with Tallahassee: your envelope travelling north, the state's processing queue, and the envelope travelling back. Stack them and several weeks disappear. Remove the post from both ends and what remains is the part that actually matters.
That is the whole method. We collect the document here, carry it to the Department of State counter, and bring it back. Five business days, measured from the handoff — not from some later date when a mailroom got round to opening the envelope.
The one thing that reliably breaks a timeline is a document that was never eligible. An uncertified FDLE printout, a hospital birth certificate, a notarial certificate missing its commission expiry — each of those is a wasted week if it reaches the counter. We read them at intake instead, which is where most of the speed comes from.
Processing Time
The single biggest factor. An ineligible document costs a week, which is why intake is a review rather than a drop-off.
If you do not yet hold a certified copy, ordering it sits ahead of our five days. We will tell you where to request it.
Diplomas and signed documents need notarizing before they can be apostilled. We do that at intake so it costs no extra time.
Documents taken in before 2 PM usually join the next filing run. Later slots roll to the following one.
Where the destination needs one, add roughly two to three business days, often running alongside rather than after.
Countries outside the convention need embassy legalization after the state and federal steps — a longer chain entirely.
Local Service
Our office is at 4830 W Kennedy Blvd, Suite 633K in Tampa's Westshore district, open Monday to Saturday and run by appointment. Clients travel to us from across Hillsborough plus Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Manatee, Sarasota and Hernando.
Every document is filed in person at the Florida Department of State rather than mailed, which is what holds the return to 5 business days. Spanish-language service is available throughout.
The Process
Appointments are confirmed inside one business hour, not the next day. Tell us roughly when suits and we'll fit you in.
We read the document before it travels. Wrong seal, missing notarial wording, a certificate the state won't accept — we catch it here, where fixing it costs nothing.
Your paperwork goes to the Department of State counter in a person's hands, not an envelope. That's the whole reason the timeline is five days instead of several weeks.
Apostilled originals are ready in 5 business days at the Westshore office, and we call as soon as they land.
FAQ
It is the standard and we hit it consistently, but the certificate is issued by the Department of State and no private service controls that counter. If something at the state end slows down, you hear it from us the same day rather than at the end.
At handoff — the moment the document is in our hands at your office appointment. Not at some later processing date.
Typically several weeks once transit both ways and the state's queue are added together, and a rejected submission restarts it with little explanation of why.
Often, when the document is clean and collected early. Call with the actual deadline and we will tell you honestly whether it is reachable.
Not to the apostille itself. But non-Hague destinations require federal authentication and embassy legalization afterward, which is a separate and longer process. Tell us the country and we will map the full chain.
Ordering it comes first and sits outside our five days. We will tell you exactly which office issues it and what to ask for, so the request is right the first time.
Service Area
Hillsborough County — our home county, served from the Tampa Westshore office by appointment.
Greater Tampa Bay — clients travel to us from Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Manatee, Sarasota and Hernando counties; book ahead and we'll hold a time.
Resources
Related
Tell us the deadline and we'll tell you whether it's achievable before you hand anything over.
One flat number, nothing bolted on afterward. What we quote is what you pay, and the Florida Department of State's filing fee is already inside it.
The $10 Florida Department of State fee is built into every price, along with in-person filing and end-to-end handling of the document. Documents that require notarization first can have that added on.
Grab the Apostille and Notarial Certificate Request Form from the Florida Department of State here. There's no need to fill it out ahead of time — we'll complete it with you at your appointment.
Florida apostille services for Hillsborough County residents and businesses. Appointment-only office on West Kennedy Boulevard in Tampa's Westshore district, serving the wider Tampa Bay area.
© 2026 Hillsborough County Apostille and Notary Services. All rights reserved. · Florida-Commissioned Notary · Established 2011
Hillsborough County Apostille and Notary Services is a private document handling business and is not affiliated with the Florida Department of State, the U.S. Department of State, or any government agency. We do not provide legal advice. Apostille fees include the $10 Florida Department of State filing fee per document.