How a Florida death certificate is used in Colombia
When a Colombian dies in Florida, the family usually needs the death recorded in the Colombian registro civil de defunción before anything else moves: a sucesión at a notaría, a pension claim, closing bank accounts. Colombia's minor-travel rules even ask for the registro civil de defunción when a deceased parent can't sign a travel permit. The Florida death certificate goes in apostilled and translated. Names must match the Colombian cédula exactly, so check both surnames and the date of birth on the Florida certificate before ordering copies.
Translation for Colombia
Colombia accepts translations made in Florida when they're certified by the translator, notarized by a different notary and apostilled, which matches our general rule; that translation is a separate document on your order. Alternatively, a Colombian official translator in Colombia can translate after the apostille, and that translation needs no apostille. The Cancillería recommends apostilling the original before translating, and the Ministry of Education doesn't require apostilled translations for convalidación.
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 Colombia
- Order online — pick "Death certificate" and "Colombia" 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 Colombia with international return shipping (+$100).
One Florida apostille is all the U.S. side needs for Colombia. Whatever the office there asks for after that — a translation, a filing deadline — is covered above.