How a Florida birth certificate is used in Nicaragua
The usual reason is registering a child born in Florida to a Nicaraguan parent, so the child can be recorded in the Registro del Estado Civil de las Personas and later get Nicaraguan documents. First-time residency applicants at Migración are also asked for a birth certificate from their country of origin. The registrar compares the parents' names against Nicaraguan records, and Nicaraguan double surnames often don't match a Florida record that shows one surname. Check the spelling before you order. We only file copies certified in 2014 or later and signed by the current State Registrar.
Translation for Nicaragua
Our standard for a translation is a translator's certification, notarized by a different notary, with its own Florida apostille. Nicaragua may instead require the translation to be made in Nicaragua: its notarial law (Ley 139) allows translations in a public deed before a Nicaraguan notary with at least ten years of incorporation, through an interpreter the notary appoints. Ask the receiving office which version it accepts before you pay for either.
What your Florida birth certificate must look like
The Florida Department of State apostilles the signature of the State Registrar, so you need a certified copy issued by the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics or a county health department — not a hospital certificate, a photocopy or a scan. Copies certified before 2014 carry an older signature and are not accepted; order a fresh certified copy through VitalChek or your county health department before you send it. The certified copy itself (about $9–$14 from the issuing office) is the only cost on top of our $220.
Step by step: birth certificate apostille for Nicaragua
- Order online — pick "Birth certificate" and "Nicaragua" 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 Nicaragua with international return shipping (+$100).
One Florida apostille is all the U.S. side needs for Nicaragua. Whatever the office there asks for after that — a translation, a filing deadline — is covered above.