Quick answer
Jordanian parents in Florida legalize their child's Florida birth certificate to register the birth with Jordan's Civil Status and Passports Department, which leads to the child's Jordanian civil record and passport. Florida issues an authentication certificate for Jordan, not an apostille — $220, 5–7 business days.
- Issued by
- Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics (Jacksonville) or a Florida county health department, on a certified copy signed by the State Registrar.
- Florida state fee
- $10 — included in $220
- Route
- Florida authentication → U.S. Department of State → Jordan embassy
- Online notarization
- Not applicable — needs a certified copy
- Consulate serving Florida
- Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Legalization Section, Washington, D.C.
- Translation
- Jordan's Ministry of Justice says translations of foreign documents go through the same certification steps, in the same order, as the original…
How a Florida birth certificate is used in Jordan
Jordanian parents in Florida legalize their child's Florida birth certificate to register the birth with Jordan's Civil Status and Passports Department, which leads to the child's Jordanian civil record and passport. Jordan's embassy lists birth certificates among the personal documents it legalizes after U.S. Department of State authentication. Order a fresh certified copy signed by the current State Registrar, and make sure the father's name matches his Jordanian documents exactly, including the full family name.
Getting a birth certificate Florida will authenticate
A certified copy on Florida security paper, signed by the State Registrar and certified in 2014 or later. We don't accept older certifications because the signature must be one the state can confirm as the State Registrar's. Hospital keepsake certificates, photocopies and laminated copies can't be apostilled, and a Florida notary can't certify a copy of a birth certificate.
Order a fresh certified copy online through VitalChek (vitalchek.com), the only vendor contracted by the Bureau of Vital Statistics, by mail or in person at the Bureau in Jacksonville, or at a county health department (births from 1917 on). Birth records are confidential: the registrant (18 or older), a parent named on the record, a legal guardian or representative, or a court order is needed. The Bureau's and VitalChek's fees are not included in our $220 apostille price.
State fee for this document: $10 — included in our price. Full details on the birth certificate page.
What happens after the Florida certificate — Jordan
After we return your document with its Florida authentication certificate, it must be authenticated by the U.S. Department of State before Jordan's embassy will accept it. The Legalization Section of the Embassy of Jordan in Washington, D.C. then legalizes it; the embassy uses Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs e-portal for applications and payment. In Jordan, the document is certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice before it reaches the requesting authority. Diplomas and transcripts follow a separate route the embassy designates. We don't handle, arrange or refer anyone for these 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 Jordan — and translation
In the U.S., the Legalization Section of the Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Washington, D.C. legalizes documents after U.S. Department of State authentication. In Jordan, documents are then certified at the Documents Certification Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where the Ministry of Justice certifies them too, before reaching the office that asked for them: the Civil Status and Passports Department, the courts, the Department of Lands and Survey, ministries or employers.
Jordan's Ministry of Justice says translations of foreign documents go through the same certification steps, in the same order, as the original, even if the original is already certified. So if you translate into Arabic in Florida, the translation should be certified by the translator, notarized by a different notary and authenticated in Florida, then follow the same chain. Ask the receiving office first whether it would rather have the translation made in Jordan. One exception: to add a child to the family book through the embassy, the embassy accepts an Arabic translation stamped by a certified translation office without separate authentication.
Jordan's embassy instructions don't set a document-age rule. Jordanian offices may want recent vital records and police checks, so ask the receiving office how recent each document must be.
Consular office serving Florida: Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Legalization Section, 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 your document
Drop the envelope at any FedEx location.
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 birth certificates get rejected
- Certified before 2014 — order a fresh copy
- Hospital keepsake certificate instead of the state record
- Photocopy, or a copy stamped by a notary
- Laminated or damaged certificate
What it costs for Jordan
$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 Jordan 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).