Who registers, and why it matters
According to the federal government's birth-abroad registration service, a child born abroad to a Brazilian mother or father is Brazilian by birth once registered at a Brazilian consular office. The consular registration is free and requires the declarant to appear before the consular authority, with an appointment at many posts. The result is a consular birth certificate, which must later be transcribed at the Cartório do 1º Ofício do Registro Civil of the family's Brazilian domicile, or of the Federal District if there's none.
Marriages work the same way. The marriage-abroad registration service says Brazilians and foreigners can request it, the Brazilian spouse appears before the consular authority as declarant, consular fees apply, and the marriage then has to be transcribed at a 1º Ofício to have legal effect in Brazil.
Registration matters for practical reasons: a Brazilian passport for the child, a CPF, inheritance, property, and a clean civil status if either spouse later divorces or remarries in Brazil.
Route 1 (consulate) or Route 2 (cartório directly)
Route 1: register at the consulate first. The consulate that serves your address, which you book through the e-Consular system, sets its own document list. Let's be straight with you: read that list before you order apostilles. The federal service pages don't list an apostille for the local certificate, and the consulate's list is what decides it. Once you have the consular certificate, transcription in Brazil uses that Brazilian document.
Route 2: transcribe directly at a cartório in Brazil (traslado). This is governed by the National Council of Justice's Resolution 155/2012. When the Florida record was never registered at a Brazilian consulate, the cartório needs the foreign certificate authenticated and translated by a Brazilian sworn translator. Since CNJ Resolution 228/2016, apostilles from Convention countries are accepted in place of consular legalization, so the Florida apostille is the authentication. The record goes into Book E of the 1º Ofício of your Brazilian domicile, or the 1º Ofício in the Federal District if you have no domicile in Brazil.
For a marriage transcription, expect the cartório to also want the Brazilian spouse's birth certificate (or a prior marriage certificate showing it was dissolved), proof of domicile, and a request signed by a spouse or an attorney-in-fact.
Preparing each Florida document
- Birth certificate. A certified copy from the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics or a county health department, signed by the State Registrar, per the Florida Department of State's accepted documents rules. Order the version that shows both parents. We don't accept vital records certified before 2014, because the signature on file must be the current State Registrar's. Order through VitalChek. See birth certificate for Brazil.
- Marriage certificate. Signed by the State Registrar or a Clerk of the County Court. The Brazilian spouse's name should match their Brazilian documents letter for letter, accents and second surnames included. See marriage certificate for Brazil.
- Divorce judgment for any prior marriage. A copy certified by the Clerk of Court, with original wet-ink certification or the clerk's official e-certification. See court records.
- Death certificate if a prior spouse died. Same vital-records rules as the birth certificate.
- Power of attorney so a relative or lawyer in Brazil can sign the transcription request. A complete Florida notarial certificate in English is required. Our online notarization lets you sign by secure video wherever you are. See power of attorney apostille.
Translation: only a tradutor público has public faith
Our general rule for translations used abroad is that the translator certifies the translation, signs it before a different notary, and the notarized translation gets its own Florida apostille. Brazil is the clearest example of a country that requires something else instead. Under Law 14.195/2021, no translation has public faith in Brazil unless it's made by a tradutor e intérprete público registered with a state Junta Comercial. A translation certified in Florida won't have that status, and cartórios can refuse it.
The same law says the translation doesn't replace the original. The cartório receives your apostilled Florida original and the Portuguese translation together. Translate after the apostille, ask the translator to include the apostille page, and confirm with the cartório whether it wants that page translated.
Where Florida-to-Brazil files get stuck
- Accents and compound surnames. Florida records often drop accents or merge surnames. The apostille certifies the official's signature, not the spelling, so ask the cartório before you order what it will accept if the names don't match exactly.
- Old legalizations. Under CNJ Resolution 228/2016, documents legalized by Brazilian consulates before August 14, 2016 were accepted only until February 14, 2017. A stamp from years ago won't carry a file today; start with a freshly certified document and a Florida apostille.
- Separated originals. The translation travels with the apostilled original. If the translator works from a scan, keep the original safe and send both to the cartório together.
- Hospital keepsake certificates. They aren't vital records and can't be apostilled.
Order of operations for a direct transcription
For Route 2, this sequence avoids paying twice:
Choose the route and the cartório
Consulate first, or direct transcription at the 1º Ofício of your Brazilian domicile (or the Federal District).
Order fresh certified copies
Birth, marriage and death records certified in 2014 or later; clerk-certified divorce judgments.
Check names and dates
Compare every Florida record with the Brazilian spouse's or parent's Brazilian documents before anything is apostilled.
Apostille in Florida
We file in person at the Florida Department of State and return documents in 5–7 business days.
Sworn Portuguese translation
A tradutor público translates the apostilled originals.
File the transcription
In person or through an attorney-in-fact holding your apostilled POA.
Timeline realism and cost
The federal service pages give no estimated processing time for consular registration, so plan around the consulate's appointment calendar. On the Florida side, filing yourself by mail commonly takes several weeks door to door; our in-person filing returns documents in 5–7 business days. If you live in Brazil, ship your certified Florida documents to our Tallahassee processing office and we'll send the finished apostilles to Brazil for a flat $100 per order.
Pricing: $220 for one document, $380 for two, and $160 each for three or more, including the state fee, request form, in-person filing and FedEx inside the U.S. Certified-copy fees and notarization aren't included. Online notarization costs $40 for the first document ($10 notarization fee + $30 technology platform fee) and $20 for each additional one. A typical marriage transcription (marriage certificate, a prior divorce judgment and a POA) is three documents at $160 each.
And one thing not to buy: the federal CPF-from-abroad service lists an ID and a birth or marriage certificate and doesn't mention an apostille. Don't order one for a CPF unless someone asks for it in writing.
Checklist for Brazil
Before you send us anything:
- Route chosen: consular registration first, or direct transcription at a cartório.
- Consular route: the post's own e-Consular list read, including whether it asks for an apostille.
- Vital records certified in 2014 or later, signed by the State Registrar (or a Clerk for marriage).
- Prior marriages covered by clerk-certified divorce judgments or death certificates.
- Names identical across Florida and Brazilian documents.
- A tradutor público lined up for after the apostille.
- POA with a complete Florida notarial certificate if someone else will file in Brazil.
- Shipping to Brazil? Add $100 per order.