How a Florida death certificate is used in Honduras
When a Honduran dies in Florida, the apostilled death certificate is what lets the family register the death with the RNP and open the declaration of heirs, whether before a Honduran court or notary, so land and accounts in Honduras can pass to the heirs. Florida issues death certificates with or without the cause of death, and only certain relatives can order the version with the cause. Ask the Honduran lawyer handling the estate which version they need and how many copies, then plan for an official translation.
Translation for Honduras
Our standard for a translation is a translator's certification, notarized by a different notary, with its own Florida apostille. Honduras's residency requirements instead call for documents in a foreign language to be officially translated by the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores or at Honduran consulates, so a private U.S. translation may be refused. Get the apostille first, then ask the receiving office which translation it accepts.
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 Honduras
- Order online — pick "Death certificate" and "Honduras" 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 Honduras with international return shipping (+$100).
One Florida apostille is all the U.S. side needs for Honduras. Whatever the office there asks for after that — a translation, a filing deadline — is covered above.