How a Florida birth certificate is used in Philippines
Here's the honest answer: for the most common Philippine use, a Report of Birth for a child born in Florida to a Filipino parent, the Embassy in Washington's checklist asks for the original birth certificate and four photocopies, with no apostille listed. Florida falls under that Embassy. An apostille comes in when the certificate goes straight to an office inside the Philippines: a late registration handled there, a school enrollment, a court case or an immigration file. Ask that office first. If you do need one, we only file copies certified in 2014 or later.
Translation for Philippines
English is an official language of the Philippines and Florida documents are issued in English, so Florida documents generally don't need a translation there. If a Florida document is in another language (for example, a notarized statement written in Spanish), our standard applies: a translator's certification, notarized by a different notary, with its own Florida apostille.
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 the Philippines
- Order online — pick "Birth certificate" and "Philippines" 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 the Philippines with international return shipping (+$100).
One Florida apostille is all the U.S. side needs for the Philippines. Whatever the office there asks for after that — a translation, a filing deadline — is covered above.