Quick answer
Families need a legalized Florida death certificate in Kuwait to settle an expat's end-of-service benefits and bank accounts, cancel residence, or proceed with inheritance before Kuwaiti courts. Florida issues an authentication certificate for Kuwait, 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 → Kuwait embassy
- Online notarization
- Not applicable — needs a certified copy
- Consulate serving Florida
- Embassy of the State of Kuwait, Washington, D.C.
- Translation
- Kuwait's embassy legalization instructions don't set a translation rule.
How a Florida death certificate is used in Kuwait
Families need a legalized Florida death certificate in Kuwait to settle an expat's end-of-service benefits and bank accounts, cancel residence, or proceed with inheritance before Kuwaiti courts. Kuwait'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 each Kuwaiti office may keep one, and expect courts to want an Arabic translation.
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 — Kuwait
After we return your document with its Florida authentication certificate, it goes to the U.S. Department of State for authentication, then to the Embassy of the State of Kuwait in Washington, D.C. for legalization. The embassy's instructions list that exact order: Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State, then the embassy. Ask your sponsor or the Kuwaiti office whether the document must also be attested by Kuwait's Ministry of Foreign Affairs after it arrives. 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 Kuwait — and translation
Legalized Florida documents in Kuwait are used by the Ministry of Interior for residence and family visas, the Public Authority for Manpower and employers for work permits, the Ministry of Higher Education for degree recognition, the Ministry of Health for medical licensing, the Ministry of Justice and courts for family and estate matters, and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for companies. In the U.S., the legalization step is done by the Embassy of the State of Kuwait in Washington, D.C.
Kuwait's embassy legalization instructions don't set a translation rule. Kuwaiti courts and ministries generally work in Arabic and may require an Arabic translation, often made by a translation office in Kuwait. Ask the receiving office first. If it accepts a Florida translation, the translator certifies it, a different notary notarizes it, and it is authenticated in Florida along with the original.
We found no published Kuwaiti rule on document age. Employers and the Ministry of Interior may want recently issued vital records and police checks, so ask your sponsor how recent each must be before you start.
Consular office serving Florida: Embassy of the State of Kuwait, 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 Kuwait
$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 Kuwait 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).