How a Florida marriage certificate is used in Nicaragua
A Florida marriage matters in Nicaragua in two places: the civil registry, if the Nicaraguan spouse wants the marriage recorded at home, and Migración, if the foreign spouse applies for residency based on the marriage. Both want the certified copy with the apostille, never a photocopy or the souvenir certificate from the ceremony. In Florida, the copy must be signed by the State Registrar or a Clerk of the County Court. If you married in a county you've moved away from, order from that county's clerk or the Bureau of Vital Statistics, not your current county.
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 marriage certificate must look like
Two versions can be apostilled: a certified copy from the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics (signed by the State Registrar; the $10 state apostille fee applies) or a certified copy from the Clerk of Court in the county that issued the license (the $20 state fee applies). The decorative certificate from the ceremony and church certificates cannot be apostilled. Vital Statistics copies certified before 2014 must be replaced; order a new one through VitalChek or the county clerk. The state fee is included in our price either way.
Step by step: marriage certificate apostille for Nicaragua
- Order online — pick "Marriage 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.