Paper guide
Florida birth certificate
A Florida birth certificate used abroad has to be a certified copy from Florida vital records. The hospital keepsake and a photocopy will be rejected in Tallahassee.
What this document is
A Florida birth certificate is the state’s official record of a birth in Florida. Foreign registries, consulates, schools, and immigration offices ask for it constantly — especially from families in Miami, Orlando, and Tampa sending files to Mexico, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic.
The Florida stamp proves the state officer on the certified copy is real. It does not prove the facts on the record beyond that.
What you must send
Send a certified copy from the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics or a Florida county health department. The seal has to be on the document. Informational copies, hospital “souvenir” certificates, wallet cards, and photocopies fail.
If the person was born in another state, Florida cannot stamp that record. If they were born abroad, this is the wrong document entirely.
- Certified copy, not a photocopy.
- No lamination.
- Names and date readable.
- Born in Florida — otherwise another state or country has to handle it.
How to order a certified copy
Order from Florida vital records or through the state’s contracted vendor if you do not already have a certified copy. Ask for a certified copy for official use. If you need the stamp for more than one country or office, order that many certified copies.
A parent, the person named on the record, or another person Florida allows can order it. We do not order the vital-records copy for you unless we agree to that in writing on a specific file.
Where these files go
Birth records are the number-one paper we file for Latin America. Read Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala, Haiti, and Spain. Cuba does not take this stamp.
Notary, translation, and shipping
You do not notarize a certified birth record. Translate after the stamp. Ship the original with tracking after you order. Standard is $125 plus the Florida state fee ($10, or $20 if a county clerk certified the document). Rush is $199 plus state fees. Mailing it to the state yourself can take months, and a reject means you start over.
How we file it
Photo first, pay, ship the certified original to Tallahassee, we take it to the Florida Department of State, we ship it back. How it works. Call (855) 261-8500 or email help@floridafastapostille.com.
Countries these files often go to
AlbaniaAndorraAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBruneiBulgariaBurundiCanadaCape VerdeChileChinaColombiaCook IslandsCosta RicaCroatiaCuba (not this stamp)CyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorEstoniaEswatiniFijiFinlandFranceGeorgiaGermanyGreeceGrenadaGuatemalaGuyanaHondurasHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanKazakhstanKosovoKyrgyzstanLatviaLesothoLiberiaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMalawiMaltaMarshall IslandsMauritiusMexicoMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMoroccoNamibiaNetherlandsNew ZealandNicaraguaNiueNorth MacedoniaNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPanamaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalRomaniaRwandaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSpainSurinameSwedenSwitzerlandTajikistanTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaVietnam
Other documents
Florida marriage certificateFlorida death certificateFlorida divorce decreePower of attorneyAffidavit or sworn statementFlorida diploma or transcriptSunbiz corporate documentFlorida court orderFDLE background checkFlorida vehicle titleFBI / federal document
Email help@floridafastapostille.com or call (855) 261-8500. If you are abroad and still need a notary, read Florida video notary. Download the True and Correct Copy PDF when that is the form you were told to use.
Questions people ask
Will you stamp the hospital certificate?
No. Order a certified copy from Florida vital records.
Born in New York, now living in Florida?
Florida cannot stamp a New York birth record. New York has to stamp it.
Do both parents sign?
Not on the certified copy. It is already a state document.
Can I send a scan only?
The photo is for our check. Florida stamps the original certified document.
Informational copy?
No. That copy is not built for this stamp. Get a certified copy.
How long?
About 3–5 business days after we have the original on standard. Rush is next-business-day drop. Prices.