How a Florida death certificate is used in Philippines
When a Filipino dies in Florida, the apostilled death certificate is what the family uses at home: settling the estate, often through an extrajudicial settlement among heirs, transferring land titles at the Registry of Deeds, closing bank accounts, and claiming benefits from Philippine agencies. Each of those offices may keep a copy, so order several certified copies at once. Florida issues death certificates with or without the cause of death, and only certain relatives can order the version with the cause, which some insurers and agencies ask for. Ask before you order.
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 death certificate must look like
Only a certified copy from the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics or a county health department can be apostilled: it carries the State Registrar's signature that the Department of State verifies. Funeral-home copies, photocopies and scans are rejected, and copies certified before 2014 must be replaced with a fresh certified copy (order through VitalChek or the county health department). If the receiving office needs the cause of death, ask for the version that includes it — both versions can be apostilled.
Step by step: death certificate apostille for the Philippines
- Order online — pick "Death 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.