Cuban civil records — birth, marriage and death certificates — are held by the registries in Cuba. The consular section in Washington requests them on your behalf and legalises them, which spares you needing a relative to queue at a municipal office, though the timetable still depends on what the registry actually holds.
Quick facts
The consular section is direct about what slows things down: identification problems, data that does not match, or an entry that is not in the digitised registry. The more precisely you can identify the record, the better.
Fees breakdown
| Service | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Request for a civil record | Consular tariff | Birth, marriage or death |
| Legalisation of the record | Consular tariff | Level depends on the receiving body |
| Registration of a birth abroad | Consular tariff | For children born in the U.S. |
| Certified translation | Per page | For use before U.S. authorities |
| Tracked postage | You supply it | Both directions |
Registering a child born in the United States is what brings them into the Cuban system, and it is the step that later makes a Cuban passport possible.
How to file
- Gather everything you know about the record: full name as registered, date, municipality and province.
- Complete the request form for that type of certificate.
- Submit it to the embassy with identification and the fee.
- Specify which level of legalisation the receiving institution requires.
- Allow for the registry search, which is the unpredictable part.
- Arrange a certified translation if a U.S. authority will receive it.
Required documents
- Identification of the person making the request.
- Evidence of relationship where the record concerns someone else.
- All available registration details of the event.
- For a birth abroad: the U.S. certificate and the Cuban parent’s documents.
- Completed request form and payment.
- Prepaid tracked return envelope.
Where to file
At the embassy in Washington, the only Cuban consular office in the United States.
Additional notes
Register children early
Registering a birth soon after it happens is far simpler than doing it years later, and it is the foundation for everything that follows.
Provinces have been redrawn
Cuba’s provincial map changed in 2011. An old record may name a province that no longer exists, which is worth mentioning in the request.
Ask for the right legalisation
Getting a certificate and getting it legalised correctly are two different things. Confirm the level before paying.
Keep spares
Given how long a request can take, order more than one copy when it finally arrives.