Who in Israel asks for your Florida documents
Israel has been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since August 14, 1978 (HCCH status table), so Florida documents need a Florida apostille and nothing more on the authentication side. The questions Israel-bound customers actually run into are about which office gets the paperwork and what that office will accept.
Population registry: marriages and divorces abroad
If you're an Israeli citizen and you married or divorced in Florida, the change of personal status has to be registered. From abroad, you submit the certificate in person at an Israeli mission. A certificate issued outside Israel must carry an apostille where the issuing country has one. If both spouses are Israeli citizens, both must apply in person. If only one is, that spouse applies in person (gov.il service page).
Israeli missions also say they accept only civil marriage and divorce certificates, not documents from a religious court. They may ask the non-Israeli spouse to show single status before the marriage with an original, legalized document (Israeli mission guidance).
Aliyah files
Aliyah files are built on original civil documents. One of the gov.il aliyah eligibility pages, for example, lists original birth certificates for each family member, plus certificates of good conduct authenticated with an apostille for applicants 14 and older (gov.il aliyah eligibility). Requirements vary by category, so get the list for your own file before you order anything from Florida.
Marriage in Israel
If you plan to marry in Israel, the office registering the marriage sets its own document list. Ask it directly whether it wants an apostilled Florida record, such as a birth certificate or a single-status affidavit, and how recent it must be.
Do Florida documents need a Hebrew translation for Israel?
Often, no — and this is where Israel saves you money compared with most destinations. To register a change of personal status, the gov.il rule is that a certificate needs to be translated and notarized only if it is not in Hebrew, English or Arabic (gov.il). Florida certificates are issued in English, so a Florida marriage certificate or divorce record with a Florida apostille can generally go in without a translation.
Other offices — a court, a religious council, a bank — may set their own language rules. If one asks for Hebrew, ask exactly what form of translation it accepts before paying for one. If you do need a translation, get it after the apostille so the apostille certificate is translated too.
Florida documents for Israel: what to order and how
Every order is filed in person at the Florida Department of State in Tallahassee, 5–7 business days door to door. All-inclusive pricing: $220 per document, $380 for two, $160 each for three or more. If you've already moved, international return shipping to Israel is a flat $100 per order.
- Marriage certificates. Must be signed by the State Registrar or a Clerk of the County Court. Israeli missions want the civil certificate, which is exactly what Florida issues. See marriage certificate apostille.
- Divorces. Send either a dissolution-of-marriage certificate signed by the State Registrar, or the final judgment certified by the Clerk of Court (original wet-ink or the clerk's official e-certification). See court records apostille.
- Birth certificates must come from the Bureau of Vital Statistics or a county health department, signed by the State Registrar. Copies certified before 2014 aren't accepted for apostille, so order a fresh one through VitalChek.
- Criminal-record certificates. If your file accepts a Florida state record, an FDLE background check or sheriff's clearance letter must be notarized when it's issued. A printout can't be apostilled. See FDLE and sheriff letters.
- Single-status affidavits and powers of attorney need a complete Florida notarial certificate. If you're already in Israel, online notarization handles it by video: $40 for the first document ($10 notarization fee + $30 technology platform fee) and $20 for each additional one. See single-status affidavit.
Before you order an apostille for Israel
Five minutes with this list can save a second trip to the mission.
- You know which office receives each document: an Israeli mission, an aliyah file, or a marriage registrar.
- Marriage and divorce documents are civil records from Florida, not religious documents.
- Vital records are certified copies signed by the current State Registrar or County Clerk (re-order anything certified before 2014).
- Divorce judgments are certified by the Clerk of Court, either with original wet-ink certification or the clerk's official e-certification.
- You've checked whether the receiving office needs a Hebrew translation. For English-language Florida certificates, often it doesn't.
- Any FDLE or sheriff record was notarized at issuance.
- Both spouses know whether they must appear in person at the mission.
- You've added international return shipping ($100 per order) if you're already in Israel.