How a Florida birth certificate is used in Venezuela
This is the document Venezuelan families in Florida order most. A child born here must be registered in a Venezuelan registro civil before SAIME will book a cédula appointment; SAIME's instructions put registration first. Chacao's published list is typical: the original foreign birth certificate, apostilled and translated into Spanish, the parents' cédulas and passports, two witnesses, and a 90-day deadline after which a late-registration letter from the Consejo de Protección is required first. We only file copies certified in 2014 or later and signed by the current State Registrar.
Translation for Venezuela
Our standard for a translation is a translator's certification, notarized by a different notary, with its own Florida apostille. Venezuela may instead require an intérprete público: under the Ley de Intérpretes Públicos (2022), official translations with public faith are made by titled translators registered in the national registry kept by the Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace. Ask the registro civil, notary or registry which version it accepts, and translate after the 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 Venezuela
- Order online — pick "Birth certificate" and "Venezuela" 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 Venezuela with international return shipping (+$100).
One Florida apostille is all the U.S. side needs for Venezuela. Whatever the office there asks for after that — a translation, a filing deadline — is covered above.