How a Florida birth certificate is used in Romania
A Florida birth certificate does two jobs for Romania. In an Article 11 citizenship file, it's a link in the chain proving you descend from a former Romanian citizen, and the citizenship law says foreign documents count only if apostilled. After citizenship is granted, or for any child born in Florida to a Romanian parent, the birth is transcribed at the consulate in Miami or a Romanian town hall to get a Romanian birth certificate. The transcription file also asks for the parents' marriage certificate. We only file copies certified in 2014 or later.
Translation for Romania
Our standard for a translation is a translator's certification, notarized by a different notary, with its own Florida apostille. Romanian civil-status offices instead expect the translation to be legalized in Romania by a public notary (from a translator authorized in Romania) or certified by a Romanian consular office; a translation made abroad before a foreign notary must itself carry an apostille. Ask the office receiving your file which version it accepts before you pay.
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 Romania
- Order online — pick "Birth certificate" and "Romania" 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 Romania with international return shipping (+$100).
One Florida apostille is all the U.S. side needs for Romania. Whatever the office there asks for after that — a translation, a filing deadline — is covered above.