For foreign probate, estate transfers, insurance claims and repatriation. $190 per certificate, 5 business days. Handled carefully, and quickly, for families in Lakeland.
When someone dies holding property, accounts, a pension or family abroad, the foreign institution handling the estate will ask for a death certificate it can verify. That means a certified Florida death certificate with an apostille attached — and usually on a timeline set by a court or an insurer rather than by the family.
We handle these with the priority they deserve. Certified copies come from the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics or the county health department where the death was registered. We review the copy, confirm whether the destination needs the version with or without cause of death, file it in person in Tallahassee, and return it within 5 business days. For Lakeland families, mobile pickup means nobody has to make an extra trip during a difficult week.
Foreign probate courts require an apostilled death certificate before an estate held in that country can be opened or distributed.
Transferring or selling real estate held overseas by the deceased runs through the apostilled certificate and, often, a related power of attorney.
Returning remains to another country requires an apostilled death certificate alongside the consular and transit paperwork.
Life insurers and annuity providers outside the U.S. will not release funds without a death certificate they can authenticate.
Foreign pension systems and social insurance agencies require proof of death in apostilled form before adjusting or paying survivor benefits.
Many countries require a citizen's death to be recorded in their own civil registry, which means submitting the apostilled U.S. certificate.
Lakeland is home to roughly 120,000 people, the largest city in Polk County. Polk County residents click through to us at nearly twice the rate of the Tampa Bay average — there is real unmet demand between Tampa and Orlando, and Lakeland sits at the centre of it. A large agricultural and logistics workforce with strong Mexican and Central American ties drives Spanish-language vital records work, while Florida Southern College and the corporate presence in town generate diploma and corporate apostille requests.
We serve clients throughout Lakeland's neighborhoods including Lake Morton, Dixieland, Grasslands, South Lakeland and Highland City. Landmarks like Lake Mirror, Florida Southern College and the Publix corporate campus put us on familiar ground — this is local service, not a mail-order processor.
From Lakeland, our Tampa Westshore office is about 45 minutes away — or skip the drive entirely and book mobile pickup; we come to your home or office. We also handle death certificate apostille work for clients in nearby Plant City, Brandon and Tampa.
The Department of State accepts a certified copy issued by the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics or the county health department where the death was registered, bearing the registrar's seal and signature. Funeral home copies, hospital paperwork and photocopies do not qualify. Florida issues two versions — one showing cause of death and one without — and access to the cause-of-death version is restricted for the first fifty years to the spouse, parent, child, sibling, or a legal representative of the estate.
Which version you need depends on the destination. Foreign probate courts and insurers often require cause of death; civil registry updates and pension offices usually do not. We'll ask before anything is filed, because ordering the wrong one costs a week. Bring the certified copy to our Westshore office — about 45 minutes from Lakeland — or book mobile pickup and we'll come to you.
Walk in to our Tampa Westshore office or schedule mobile pickup across the Tampa Bay area — confirmed within one business hour.
Before anything is filed, we vet the document itself — the certification, the notarization, and what your destination country expects — so rejections don't happen.
We hand-carry your paperwork to the Florida Department of State counter ourselves. No mail-in pile, no batch processing, nothing left to chance.
Your apostilled originals come back in 5 business days, ready for office pickup or local return delivery — and you get a call the minute they arrive.
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.
Every price covers the $10-per-document Florida Department of State filing fee, in-person submission at the state counter, and complete document handling. If your paperwork needs notarization first, we offer that as a separate add-on service.
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 pickup.
Yes — mobile pickup covers Lakeland and the wider Tampa Bay service area. Requests before 2 PM are routinely scheduled same-day, and every request gets a confirmed window within one business hour.
We're at 4830 W Kennedy Blvd, Suite 633K in Tampa's Westshore district — about 45 minutes away from Lakeland. Walk-ins are welcome during business hours, or book mobile pickup and skip the trip entirely.
Pickup to return runs 5 business days anywhere in our service area — the same in-person filing schedule for every city we cover. Facing a tighter deadline? Call and we'll give you a straight answer about what rush handling can realistically deliver.
The version without cause of death is a public record and anyone may order it. The cause-of-death version is restricted for fifty years to the decedent's spouse, parent, child or sibling, or to a legal representative of the estate or of one of those family members.
Foreign probate courts and insurance companies commonly require the cause-of-death version. Civil registry updates, pension offices and property transfers usually accept the version without it. Tell us the destination and what's being filed, and we'll confirm before you order.
Yes — this is a routine situation for us. We can coordinate the certified copy, handle the apostille, and arrange international shipping of the completed document. Everything can be arranged by phone and email from wherever you are.
Usually. The apostille form is multilingual, but the death certificate underneath is in English, and most foreign probate courts require a certified translation into the local language. We coordinate that alongside the apostille.
Yes, provided you have a currently issued certified copy. Age of the death isn't the issue; what matters is that the copy in hand carries a current registrar's seal and signature that the Department of State can verify.
Order certified Florida death certificates.
Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough CountyLocal vital records office for deaths registered in the county.
Florida Department of StateThe office that issues the apostille itself.
One flat rate, volume bundles, and the few things that add cost.
Processing timeThe 5-day timeline vs the mail-in queue.
Same-day & rush serviceA straight answer on what a tight deadline allows.
Mobile pickupWe come to you, across the Tampa Bay area.
We move quickly on estate matters — call and we'll confirm a Lakeland pickup window within one business hour.
