How a Florida death certificate is used in Brazil
When a Brazilian dies in Florida, the family usually needs two things in Brazil: the death transcribed into the Brazilian civil register, which follows the same CNJ 155/2012 rules as births and marriages, and an inventário to transfer property, bank balances or vehicles. If all heirs are adults and agree, the inventário can often be done by public deed at a cartório de notas instead of in court. Both routes need the Florida death certificate, signed by the State Registrar and apostilled, with a sworn Portuguese translation. Order extra certified copies.
Translation for Brazil
Our general rule for translations is certified by the translator, notarized by a separate notary and apostilled in Florida, but Brazil instead requires its own public translators. Under Law 14.195/2021, only a tradutor e intérprete público registered with a Brazilian Junta Comercial gives a translation public faith in Brazil, and the original-language document must accompany it. Apostille in Florida first, then have a Brazilian public translator translate the apostilled original, and ask whether the apostille page must be translated too.
What your Florida death certificate must look like
Only a certified copy from the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics or a county health department can be apostilled: it carries the State Registrar's signature that the Department of State verifies. Funeral-home copies, photocopies and scans are rejected, and copies certified before 2014 must be replaced with a fresh certified copy (order through VitalChek or the county health department). If the receiving office needs the cause of death, ask for the version that includes it — both versions can be apostilled.
Step by step: death certificate apostille for Brazil
- Order online — pick "Death certificate" and "Brazil" on the order form; $220 per document, $380 for two, $160 each for three or more.
- Send a photo — reply to the confirmation email with a picture of the document. We check the certification before anything ships, so a defect is caught before it costs you a round trip.
- Drop it at FedEx — after approval, FedEx emails you a prepaid QR code; show it at any FedEx Office or Ship Center, no printer or label needed.
- Filed in person in Tallahassee — we walk the document into the Florida Department of State and ship the apostilled original back by FedEx within 5–7 business days of receipt — to your U.S. address, or to Brazil with international return shipping (+$100).
One Florida apostille is all the U.S. side needs for Brazil. Whatever the office there asks for after that — a translation, a filing deadline — is covered above.