Quick answer
When a Lebanese citizen dies in Florida, the family registers the death through the embassy's death application form and uses the death certificate in Lebanon to obtain an inheritance ruling, transfer land and close bank accounts. Florida issues an authentication certificate for Lebanon, 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 → Lebanon embassy
- Online notarization
- Not applicable — needs a certified copy
- Consulate serving Florida
- Embassy of Lebanon, Washington, D.C.
- Translation
- Lebanon's embassy translates Lebanese documents into English but doesn't publish a rule for translating U.S.
How a Florida death certificate is used in Lebanon
When a Lebanese citizen dies in Florida, the family registers the death through the embassy's death application form and uses the death certificate in Lebanon to obtain an inheritance ruling, transfer land and close bank accounts. The embassy also handles transfer of remains. Order several certified copies from the Bureau of Vital Statistics or a county health department, since registration, court and banks may each need 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 — Lebanon
After we return your document with its Florida authentication certificate, it goes to the U.S. Department of State for authentication, which Lebanon's embassy requires for documents such as powers of attorney and life certificates. Next, the Embassy of Lebanon in Washington, D.C., whose jurisdiction includes Florida, legalizes it. Ask the office in Lebanon whether the document also needs to be certified by Lebanon's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 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 Lebanon — and translation
Florida falls under the Embassy of Lebanon in Washington, D.C., according to its published jurisdiction list; there is also an Honorary Consulate of Lebanon in Tampa. The embassy legalizes documents and registers births, marriages, divorces and deaths of Lebanese citizens. In Lebanon, documents go to the personal status registry, religious and civil courts, the land registry, notaries, banks and pension funds.
Lebanon's embassy translates Lebanese documents into English but doesn't publish a rule for translating U.S. documents into Arabic. Lebanese courts, registries and notaries generally work in Arabic and may require a translation, often made in Lebanon. Ask the receiving office. If it accepts a Florida translation, the translator certifies it, a different notary notarizes it, and it is authenticated in Florida with the original.
The embassy's published pages don't set a document-age rule for most documents. Lebanese registries and courts may want recent certified copies, so order fresh Florida records and ask the receiving office how recent they must be.
Consular office serving Florida: Embassy of Lebanon, Washington, D.C. (its jurisdiction includes Florida).
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 Lebanon
$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 Lebanon 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).