Quick answer
When a Jordanian dies in Florida, the family needs the death certificate in Jordan to obtain an inheritance certificate from the competent court, then to transfer land, shares and bank accounts. Florida issues an authentication certificate for Jordan, not an apostille — $220, 5–7 business days.
- Issued by
- Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics or a Florida county health department (deaths from 2009 on), 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 death certificate is used in Jordan
When a Jordanian dies in Florida, the family needs the death certificate in Jordan to obtain an inheritance certificate from the competent court, then to transfer land, shares and bank accounts. Jordan's embassy lists death certificates among the personal documents it legalizes. Order several certified copies from the Bureau of Vital Statistics or a county health department, since the court, lands department and banks may each keep one.
Getting a death certificate Florida will authenticate
A certified copy signed by the State Registrar and certified in 2014 or later. The year of death doesn't matter; the certification date does. Copies with or without the cause of death can both be apostilled, but photocopies and notarized copies cannot.
Order through VitalChek (vitalchek.com), by mail or in person at the Bureau of Vital Statistics, or at the county health department for deaths from 2009 on. The version without the cause of death is available to anyone 18 or older; the version with the cause of death is restricted to eligible requesters. These fees are not included in our $220.
State fee for this document: $10 — included in our price. Full details on the death 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 death certificates get rejected
- Certified before 2014, even for an old death
- Photocopy or notarized copy
- Funeral-home or hospital paperwork instead of the certified certificate
- Death recorded in another state
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).