What Fort Lauderdale sends me
The requests that come most often from this part of Florida:
- Vessel titles, bills of sale and powers of attorney for boats.
- Powers of attorney for property in Latin America and Europe.
- Affidavits and declarations for consulates.
- Company documents for owners who travel.
- Travel consent letters for children.
Worth knowing in Fort Lauderdale
With one of the largest boating communities in the country, vessel paperwork is common here, and Florida treats vessels much like vehicles, so the power of attorney form covers motor vehicles, mobile homes and vessels alike.
Broward has large Brazilian, Colombian and Venezuelan communities, and a good share of what I notarize for them is heading abroad, which means an apostille afterwards.
I work in English and Spanish, so if your document is in Portuguese you will need a translator for the text itself, though the notarization and the apostille guidance are unaffected.
How an online session works
You book a time, and I send a secure link, usually for the same day or the next, and the platform then checks your identification and asks a few questions drawn from public records, before we meet on video, where I confirm you understand what you are signing and that nobody is pressuring you.
You sign electronically, I complete the notarial certificate, and you download the finished document with its seal and audit trail, all of which normally takes about fifteen minutes.
What you need
- A phone, tablet or computer with a camera and microphone.
- A current, government-issued photo ID.
- The document, complete and unsigned.
- Confirmation from the office receiving it that they accept an electronic notarization.
In person, honestly
I am based in Lakeland and travel inside Polk County, so I do not drive to Fort Lauderdale for a signing, so if your document has to be signed on paper in front of a notary, look for a mobile notary there, and if it can be done online, we can start today.
Frequently asked questions
- Do you travel to Fort Lauderdale?
- No, I travel inside Polk County only, and everything else is done in an online session, which is valid across Florida and carries the same legal weight as signing in person.
- Is an online notarization valid here?
- Yes, Florida authorized remote online notarization in 2020, and a document notarized this way has the same effect as one notarized across a desk, though the office receiving it can still ask for paper.
- Can you notarize a vessel title or bill of sale?
- Yes, and the vehicle power of attorney form in Florida covers vessels too, though check with the tax collector's office about what your specific transaction needs.
- My document is in Portuguese — is that a problem?
- The notarization is fine, because the document's language does not change the notarial act, but I translate only between English and Spanish, so a Portuguese translation would need someone else.