Who in Colombia receives your Florida documents
Florida documents for Colombia usually go to one of four places. The Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil, or a notaría, handles the registro civil. The Cancillería (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) handles visas. The Ministerio de Educación Nacional handles convalidación of foreign degrees. Notarías and courts handle property, inheritance and powers of attorney. Colombia has been a party to the Apostille Convention since 30 January 2001 (HCCH status table).
Registro civil for a child born in Florida
The Registraduría says that since Decree 356 of 2017, registering a birth that happened abroad requires the foreign birth record "debidamente apostillado y traducido" (duly apostilled and translated). The registration can be done at any notaría, Registraduría office or consulate, whatever the date and place of birth (Registraduría).
Visas: the three-month rule
The Cancillería's visa guide says every document issued abroad must be apostilled (and translated where needed), and documents other than passports must be issued no more than three months before you apply. An old certified copy from your drawer won't work. Order a fresh one, apostille it and apply quickly.
Translating Florida documents for Colombia: two valid routes
The Cancillería recommends apostilling the original document before it's translated (Cancillería requirements). After that, you have two options:
- A Colombian official translator in Colombia. Since 1 December 2020, the Cancillería says the official translator's signature is already valid in Colombia, so the translation itself isn't apostilled.
- A translation made in Florida. The Cancillería says translations issued abroad "deben ser apostilladas o legalizadas desde el país de origen" (must be apostilled or legalized from the country of origin). In practice, the translator signs a translation affidavit before a Florida notary, and the affidavit gets its own Florida apostille. The Florida Department of State says the translator can't be the notary who notarizes it. That makes it a second document on your order. See certified translation apostille.
One exception: for degree convalidación, the Ministry of Education's FAQ says the translation doesn't require an apostille. Rules differ by office, so ask yours before you pay twice.
Convalidating a Florida degree in Colombia
The Ministerio de Educación Nacional's convalidación FAQ requires the diploma to carry an apostille, and the transcript of courses and grades must have one too. The documents also have to be translated into Spanish, and you upload everything through the Ministry's online convalidación system. A diploma and a transcript are two documents, so they cost $380 together.
Most rejections happen on the Florida side. A Florida notary can't attest a copy of a public school or university record. Instead, the registrar or another issuing official has to sign it in front of a notary, with a complete notarial certificate. For a private school, a printed transcript with a notarized statement by the student or custodian that it's a true copy works. Ask the registrar's office for "a notarized copy for apostille" in exactly those words. Our diplomas and transcripts guide covers the details.
Before you order a Florida apostille for Colombia
Pricing: $220 for one document, $380 for two, $160 each for three or more. Shipping the finished documents to Colombia adds $100 per order.
- Visa application? Every non-passport document must be issued within three months of applying.
- Registering a Florida-born child: the birth certificate must be apostilled and translated. You can register at any notaría, Registraduría office or consulate.
- Vital records must be certified in 2014 or later and signed by the current State Registrar. Order through VitalChek if yours is older.
- Convalidación: apostille both the diploma and the transcript, each notarized when the school issues it.
- Decide on the translation route: a Colombian official translator, or a Florida translation with its own apostille.
- Power of attorney: use the specific wording your Colombian lawyer approves, with a complete Florida notarial certificate in English, or sign online.