Quick answer
Many documents for Cuba are private papers signed in Florida: letters to the Registro del Estado Civil, declarations for a relative's paperwork, consent statements. Florida issues an authentication certificate for Cuba, not an apostille — $220, 5–7 business days.
- Issued by
- A notary public with an active Florida commission, in person or as a Florida-registered online notary.
- Florida state fee
- $10 — included in $220
- Route
- Florida authentication → U.S. Department of State → Cuba embassy
- Online notarization
- Available as an add-on
- Consulate serving Florida
- Consular Office of Cuba in the United States (Embassy of Cuba, Washington, D.C.)
- Translation
- Cuba's consular instructions say foreign documents must be translated into Spanish by a sworn, legalized translator…
How a Florida notarized document is used in Cuba
Many documents for Cuba are private papers signed in Florida: letters to the Registro del Estado Civil, declarations for a relative's paperwork, consent statements. Each must carry a complete Florida notarial certificate before it can be authenticated. Cuba's consular rules then require a sworn Spanish translation, legalized along with the original, or a translation done at the consulate. Write the document in Spanish from the start where you can; it is often simpler than translating an English document afterwards.
Getting a notarized document Florida will authenticate
A complete Florida notarial certificate in English: venue (State of Florida, County of ___), physical presence or online notarization box, date, signer's name, ID type or personally known, and the notary's original signature, printed name and seal with commission number and expiration date. The document itself can be in any language, and the notary's commission must have been active on the signing date.
Sign before any Florida notary, at an in-person appointment in West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa or Clearwater (notarization charged separately), or through our online notarization add-on: $40 for the first document ($10 notarization fee + $30 technology platform fee) and $20 for each additional document. Notarization is not included in the $220 apostille price.
State fee for this document: $10 — included in our price. Full details on the notarized document page.
What happens after the Florida certificate — Cuba
After we return your document with its Florida authentication certificate, it goes to the U.S. Department of State for federal authentication, and then to the Consular Office of Cuba in the United States at the Embassy of Cuba in Washington, D.C., for Cuban consular legalization. Some uses in Cuba (for example, documents for a marriage performed in Cuba) also call for legalization by Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX). We don't handle, arrange or refer anyone for the federal, consular or Cuban steps.
We don't handle or arrange the U.S. Department of State or embassy steps. See how non-Hague authentication works.
Who receives it in Cuba — and translation
Most Florida documents for Cuba pass through the Consular Office of Cuba in the United States, part of the Embassy of Cuba in Washington, D.C., which registers births, marriages and deaths of Cuban citizens and legalizes foreign documents. In Cuba, the records end up with the Registro del Estado Civil, Cuban notaries, the immigration authorities (for residence applications) and, for marriages of foreigners, the International Legal Consultancy and law firms (bufetes) that perform them.
Cuba's consular instructions say foreign documents must be translated into Spanish by a sworn, legalized translator, and both the original and the translation must be legalized by the competent authorities and then by the Cuban consulate. The alternative it lists: legalize only the original, then have the translation done and legalized at the Cuban consulate. If you translate in Florida, the translation should be certified by the translator, notarized by a different notary, and authenticated in Florida along with the original. Divorce decrees need a full translation; summaries are not accepted.
The consulate's published requirements set hard limits for some uses: a criminal record certificate for a foreigner's residence application must be no more than three months old, medical results no more than six months, and a single-status certificate for marriage in Cuba must be issued within six months. For everything else, order a fresh certified copy and ask the receiving office how recent it must be.
Consular office serving Florida: Consular Office of Cuba in the United States (Embassy of Cuba, Washington, D.C.).
Four steps, one week
Order online
Pick the document and destination country on the order form and pay by card. After we review your documents, FedEx emails you a prepaid label.
Send it — or sign online
Drop the envelope at any FedEx location. Not signed yet? Add online notarization and there is nothing to ship.
We file in person
We review it, then walk it to the Florida Department of State in Tallahassee for the authentication certificate.
Returned to you
Back in 5–7 business days — anywhere in the U.S., or abroad for a flat $100.
Why notarized documents get rejected
- Certificate missing the venue, presence box or ID type
- Notary commissioned in another state
- Commission expired on the notarization date, or seal illegible
- Notarized photocopy of a vital record or court record
What it costs for Cuba
$220 per document, $380 for two and $160 each for three or more — the state fee, request form, in-person filing in Tallahassee and FedEx shipping inside the U.S. are included. Shipping the finished authentication to Cuba is a flat $100 per order.
Not included: whatever the issuing office charges for the certified copy or certificate, and notarization (online notarization is $40 for the first document — $10 notarization fee + $30 technology platform fee — and $20 for each additional one).