Consulates

Cuban birth certificate from the US: $20 + $100 on issue

How to request a Cuban birth certificate from the US: the Anexo 3 form, $20 request fee, $100 on delivery, USPS money order only, and optional legalizations.

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Cuban birth certificate requested from the United States

A Cuban birth certificate (certificación de nacimiento) is a Cuban Civil Registry document (Resolución 38/2023 of Cuba’s Foreign Ministry, MINREX, section 10). From the United States you request it through Cuba’s only consular office in the country, inside the Cuban Embassy in Washington, DC. The consulate sends the request to Cuba and, when the document arrives, contacts the applicant to pay for delivery. The request costs $20.00 USD (plus $20.00 USD if sent by mail) and issuing the certificate costs $100.00 USD, all paid by USPS Postal Money Order (fees published by the Cuban Consular Office in Washington, checked October 3, 2026). The key condition: if the procedure is not completed, the $20 request fee is not refunded.

Versión en español

Costs

Item	Amount (USD)	When it is paid
Request for the document from Cuba	$20.00	When you apply
Non-personal fee (mail requests only)	$20.00	When you apply
Issuance of the birth certificate	$100.00	When the document arrives from Cuba
If applicable: authentication by the Cuban institution that issued the document	$100.00	When the document arrives
If requested on the form: MINREX legalization	$40.00	When the document arrives
If applicable: Consular Office legalization	$40.00	When the document arrives

Fees published by the Cuban Consular Office in Washington on its consular services page, checked October 3, 2026. Without authentication or legalizations the total is $120.00 in person or $140.00 by mail (our sum of the published items). The page lists the authentication and legalization payments as due según corresponda (as applicable) and does not say when the authentication applies.

Timeframe and validity. The Spanish-language consular services page, checked October 3, 2026, does not publish how long the document takes to arrive from Cuba or a validity period for the certificate.

Where these figures come from

Resolución 38/2023, signed June 29, 2023, is Cuba’s consular fee schedule. In its United States column it sets $20.00 for “Solicitudes a Cuba de documentos” (section 19.d), $20.00 for any non-personal procedure (19.a) and $100.00 for birth, marriage, death, criminal-record and other certificates (10.a), charged “en el momento de su entrega” (at delivery). MINREX legalization ($40.00) is section 19.f, and consular legalization of documents issued in Cuba for use abroad ($40.00) is section 24.b. The $100.00 for authentication by the issuing institution appears on the consular page; in the Resolución we reviewed we did not find that line for Civil Registry certificates.

Annex II of the Resolución (Article 10) adds two rules: the request fee is not refunded if the procedure is not completed, and the delivery and legalization costs must be explained to the user at the time of the request.

Payment documentation adds these details (checked October 17, 2026):

Under Annex II of Resolución 38/2023, each issued document records the applicable tariff provisions and the amount charged.
The same Annex provides that a payment receipt is issued for every service, except exempt services.
In the Postal Money Order model, the From field takes the applicant’s given names and surnames; its Address field takes the applicant’s home address.

What the form asks for (Anexo 3)

The Anexo 3 form, Solicitud de Certificación de Nacimiento, asks for:

Full name (nombre y apellidos)
Date of birth (day, month, year)
Place of birth: municipality and province
The Civil Registry where the birth was recorded, with the registry’s municipality and province
The tomo (volume) and folio (page) of the entry
Date of the entry, if different from the birth date
Father’s name and mother’s name
The boxes “Legalización en MINREX” and “Legalización en Embajada de”
Date of the request

The consular page stresses one point: when filling in the request, you “siempre debe especificar si necesita que el documento sea legalizado por el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (MINREX) de Cuba” (must always state whether the document needs MINREX legalization).

Step by step

Download and fill in the Anexo 3 form with the registry details, including tomo and folio.
Mark the legalizations you need (MINREX, embassy).
Choose a channel. The consular page offers three:
- In person at the consular office, 2639 16th St NW, Washington DC 20009, Monday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon (hours from Nota Informativa No. 1/2024, in effect since March 4, 2024). The page, checked October 3, 2026, does not describe an appointment system; it asks visitors to meet the requirements for each service before the visit.
- By mail, addressed to Embassy of the Republic of Cuba, 2630 16th St NW, Washington DC 20009. Note: the walk-in office is at 2639 and the mailing address is 2630; the page publishes each number for its own role.
- Through an agency that has a contract with the consular office. The consular page publishes the agency lists by state.
Pay the $20.00 request fee (plus $20.00 by mail) with a USPS Postal Money Order. The page warns: “Si utiliza otro giro postal, su trámite será devuelto” (any other money order means the request is returned). Fill it in without cross-outs or smudges, in black or blue ink. The money-order model (Anexo 1) shows: Pay to: Embajada de Cuba en Estados Unidos; Address: 2630 16th Street NW Washington, D.C. 20009; Memo: the consular service being paid for.
If filing by mail, include the return envelope: prepaid, with the applicant’s full details, one per applicant in a family, and left unsealed. The page recommends envelopes with a tracking number and a 9.65 USD postage stamp.
Wait to be contacted. When the Consular Office receives the document from Cuba, it contacts the applicant to send the $100.00 issuance payment and, as applicable, the authentication and legalization payments.
Receive the certificate through the channel you chose.

A Cuban birth certificate is not the transcription of a US birth

These are two different services at the same office:

Birth certificate (this procedure): a certified copy of a birth already recorded in a Cuban Civil Registry.
Birth transcription: the consular page describes it for people born in the United States to a Cuban father or mother; it records that birth in the Cuban registry and, per the same page, “no implica la obtención automática de la ciudadanía cubana” (does not automatically grant Cuban citizenship). See how to register a US-born child with Cuba.

If what you need is a US birth certificate, see the guide to vital records by state.

Using a Cuban certificate outside Cuba

Cuba is not among the 130 contracting parties to the Apostille Convention in the Hague Conference status table (checked October 3, 2026). That is why the route the consular page offers for a Cuban document is legalization: MINREX ($40.00) and the Consular Office ($40.00). The consular page does not say what any particular US agency requires when it receives the certificate; confirm the requirements with the agency or court asking for it.

Questions

The consular page publishes a channel for questions about a specific service, Monday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM: phone (202)-797-8518 and email recepcion@usadc.embacuba.cu.

Official sources

Embassy of Cuba in the US — Servicios consulares (section “Solicitud de documentos a Cuba”)
Anexo 3 — Solicitud de Certificación de Nacimiento
Anexo 1 — Postal Money Order model
Resolución 38/2023 on the consular fee schedule — sections 10, 19 and 24; Annex II, Article 10
HCCH — Apostille Convention status table

Last verified: 2026-10-03. General procedural information for educational purposes. Fees, forms and filing channels are set by the Cuban Consular Office and can change without notice. Verify directly with the Cuban Consular Office in Washington, DC. Not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Cuban birth certificate cost when requested from the US?

According to the Cuban Embassy’s consular services page in Washington, checked October 3, 2026: $20.00 USD for the request, another $20.00 USD if filed by mail (the non-personal fee), and $100.00 USD for issuing the certificate, paid when the document arrives from Cuba. Without authentication or legalizations that adds up to $120.00 in person or $140.00 by mail (our sum of the published items; the page charges authentication and legalizations según corresponda, as applicable).

How do I pay?

Only by United States Postal Service (USPS) Postal Money Order. The consular page warns that if you use another money order, the request will be returned. The office’s money-order model (Anexo 1) shows Pay to: Embajada de Cuba en Estados Unidos, the address 2630 16th Street NW Washington, D.C. 20009, and, in the Memo line, the consular service being paid for.

Is the $20 refunded if the certificate cannot be obtained?

No. Cuba’s Resolución 38/2023 (Annex II, Article 10) says that if the procedure is not completed, the request fee already paid is not refunded, and that the user must be told this when requesting the service.

How long does it take for the birth certificate to arrive from Cuba?

The Spanish-language consular services page, checked October 3, 2026, does not publish a timeframe. It says only that when the Consular Office receives the documents from Cuba, the applicant will be contacted to send the corresponding payments. For questions, the office answers Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, at (202)-797-8518 and recepcion@usadc.embacuba.cu.

What information does the form ask for?

The Anexo 3 form asks for full name, date of birth, municipality and province of birth, the Civil Registry where the birth was recorded (registry municipality and province), the tomo and folio, the date of the entry if different from the birth date, and the father’s and mother’s names. It also has boxes for Legalización en MINREX and Legalización en Embajada de.

Which legalizations can I request and what do they cost?

The consular page lists three payments charged when the document arrives, según corresponda (as applicable): $100.00 USD for authentication by the Cuban institution that issued the document, $40.00 USD for MINREX legalization and $40.00 USD for Consular Office legalization (checked October 3, 2026). The two $40 items match Resolución 38/2023; the $100 item appears on the consular page and we did not find it in the Resolución for Civil Registry documents. The request form has boxes only for MINREX and embassy legalization; the page does not say when the authentication applies.

Is this the same as registering a US-born child in Cuba?

No. Requesting a Cuban birth certificate means getting a certified copy of a birth already recorded in Cuba. Birth transcription is a different service: the consular page says it is for people born in the United States to a Cuban father or mother, and that it does not automatically grant Cuban citizenship.

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General information, not legal advice. MigrantUSA is an independent publisher and is not a law firm; using this site does not create an attorney-client relationship, and this content is not a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney about your specific situation. US federal, state, and local government procedures, fees, and forms change. Always verify current details directly with the relevant agency before acting. For immigration, tax, or other legal matters specific to your situation, consult a licensed attorney or BIA-accredited representative.