Tampa Bay
Manatee County, Florida apostille filing
Every Manatee County paper that needs a foreign-use stamp still goes to Tallahassee. We cover 9 cities and 18 ZIP codes in this county.
Manatee County, without the jargon
Manatee County is in Tampa Bay. 9 cities and towns and 18 ZIP codes here still use one Tallahassee office for the foreign-use stamp.
Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and Brandon use overnight FedEx. A large share of files here go to Colombia, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. Hillsborough and Pinellas court documents must be stamped by that county’s clerk first.
If the document is a court file — divorce, name change, adoption — the Manatee County clerk has to certify it first. We cannot take a website printout to the state.
How documents leave Manatee County
Inbound shipping from this county is overnight to our Tallahassee desk. We drop the original at the state office and send it back with tracking.
Birth and marriage records still come from Florida vital records. Powers of attorney still need a Florida notary. An FBI report still cannot be stamped here.
Latin America from this county
Families in Manatee County send documents to Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Brazil, and Central America more than anywhere else. Those countries take the Florida stamp. Cuba does not.
Cities and towns in Manatee County
Anna MariaBradentonBradenton BeachCortezEllentonMyakka CityPalmettoParrishSarasota
Questions people ask
Can the Manatee County clerk add the apostille?
No. The clerk can certify a court copy. Only the Florida Department of State in Tallahassee can add the foreign-use stamp.
Do I have to visit the county seat?
Only if you still need a certified court copy. Once you have that document, you can ship it to us from anywhere in the county.