LLC formation state
This is the state that created or registered the company. It controls company-record filings and certified copies from that state.
Company document path
Your LLC's state may not be the apostille state.
Start with the signature or official record being authenticated. Florida-notarized signatures and state-issued company records follow different paths.
The plain rule
Start with the signature that needs authentication.
If the document is notarized by a Florida notary, the apostille or notarial certification path is usually Florida. The company may be a Wyoming LLC, Delaware LLC, Florida LLC, or another entity, but the notarized signature being authenticated is still the Florida notary signature.
If the document is an official company record or certified copy issued by a state filing office, start with the issuing state instead.
Notary state
This is the state of the notary public who performed the notarial act. For a Florida online notary, that notarial act usually points to Florida for the next step.
Recipient country
The country where the document will be used decides whether the apostille treaty path fits or whether a different authentication/legalization path may be needed.
Common business documents
Foreign founders and small businesses often run into this with documents such as:
- operating agreements;
- member or manager resolutions;
- authorization letters;
- bank or payment-platform affidavits;
- passport-copy statements or identity declarations;
- powers of attorney tied to company formation, banking, tax, or marketplace accounts.
Those documents may mention Wyoming, Delaware, Stripe, Amazon, a bank, a mailbox provider, or a registered agent. That does not by itself decide the apostille state. The signature or official record being authenticated decides the correct path forward.
When this becomes a notary or apostille job
Use LLCInfo.cc to separate the company, address, mail, tax, platform, and bank roles. Use Notary Geek's routing model when the question becomes where to notarize the document, which notary state controls the apostille path, whether remote online notarization fits, or how the completed packet should be routed and shipped.
Do not mix these up
Florida notarized document
The document needs a full Florida notarial statement and the Florida notary's original signature, stamp, and seal when submitted for Florida authentication.
Wyoming company record
A Wyoming Secretary of State certificate, certified copy, or company record normally starts with Wyoming, not Florida.
Delaware company record
A Delaware certified copy, certificate of status, or other Delaware-issued company record normally starts with Delaware, not Florida.
Federal document
A federal document may need a federal authentication path, not a state apostille path.
What to collect before paying anyone
- What document is being signed or certified?
- Is it a private signed document or an official state/federal record?
- Who signs it?
- Which notary state will appear on the notarial certificate?
- Which country or recipient will use it?
- Does the recipient require an apostille, embassy legalization, or only a notarized copy?
Official starting sources
Florida says the Florida Secretary of State is the competent authority in Florida. Florida's apostille materials also say documents notarized by a Florida notary public are an accepted document category, and that documents signed by a notary in another state should go to the competent authority for that state.
Florida apostille and notarial certification page