Consulates

Cuban criminal record certificate from the US: $20 + $100

How to request a Cuban criminal record certificate (antecedentes penales) from the US: Anexo 4 form, $20 request, $100 on delivery, USPS money order, legalization.

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Cuban criminal record certificate requested from the United States

The Cuban criminal record certificate (certificación de antecedentes penales) is one of the certificates that Cuba’s Resolución 38/2023 groups with Civil Registry certificates (section 10.a). From the United States you request it from Cuba through Cuba’s only consular office in the country, at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, DC, using the Anexo 4 form. The request costs $20.00 USD (plus $20.00 USD if sent by mail) and the certificate costs $100.00 USD on delivery, paid only by USPS Postal Money Order (fees published by the Cuban Consular Office in Washington, checked October 3, 2026). The key condition: the form asks for Cuban identity details (identity card number and last address in Cuba), and the $20 request fee is not refunded if the procedure is not completed.

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
Criminal record 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: $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.

In Resolución 38/2023 (signed June 29, 2023), the United States column sets $100.00 for the criminal-record certificate (10.a), $20.00 for requesting documents from Cuba (19.d), $20.00 for the non-personal procedure (19.a), $40.00 for MINREX legalization (19.f) and $40.00 for consular legalization of documents issued in Cuba for use abroad (24.b). The $100.00 authentication by the issuing institution comes from the consular page; in the Resolución we reviewed we did not find that line for these certificates.

Timeframe and validity. The Spanish-language consular services page, checked October 3, 2026, does not publish how long the certificate takes or how long it is valid.

What the form asks for (Anexo 4)

The Anexo 4 form, Solicitud de Antecedentes Penales, is more detailed than the forms for other Cuban certificates:

Block	Details requested
Name	First given name, second given name, first surname, second surname
Birth	Place (city or town, municipality, state or province, country) and date
Status	Citizenship, nationality, sex, marital status, skin color
Occupation	Profession, trade or occupation
Family	Father’s name and mother’s name
Documents	Cuban identity card (carné de identidad) number and passport number
Address in Cuba	Last address of residence in Cuba: street, number, cross streets, neighborhood (barrio), municipality, province
Legalization	Boxes “Legalización en MINREX” and “Legalización en Embajada de”

When filling it in, the consular page says 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 4 form. Have your Cuban identity card number and your full last address in Cuba at hand.
Mark the legalizations you need.
Choose a channel published on the consular page:
- In person: 2639 16th St NW, Washington DC 20009, Monday to Friday 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon (Nota Informativa No. 1/2024, since March 4, 2024).
- By mail: Embassy of the Republic of Cuba, 2630 16th St NW, Washington DC 20009. 2639 is the walk-in office and 2630 the mailing address; do not swap them.
- Through an agency: agencies with a contract with the consular office, listed by state on the consular page.
Pay by USPS Postal Money Order the $20.00 request fee (plus $20.00 by mail). The money-order model (Anexo 1) shows Pay to: Embajada de Cuba en Estados Unidos; Address: 2630 16th Street NW Washington, D.C. 20009; and the service paid for in the Memo line. Write in black or blue ink, without cross-outs.
By mail, add the return envelope: prepaid, one per applicant, left unsealed; the page recommends a tracking number and a 9.65 USD stamp.
Wait for the consulate to contact you. When it receives the document from Cuba, the office contacts the applicant to send the $100.00 payment and any legalization payments.
Receive the certificate.

The Cuban certificate versus an FBI record

These are documents from two different countries. The certificate on this page is issued by Cuba and requested from Cuba through the consulate. If you are being asked for your US history, that is a separate process: see the guide to FBI background checks. The consular page does not say which US agencies accept the Cuban certificate or with which legalizations; confirm with whoever is asking for it.

Using the 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 consular page offers legalization rather than an apostille: MINREX ($40.00) and the Consular Office ($40.00), plus authentication by the issuing institution ($100.00), each charged as applicable. The form’s boxes are “Legalización en MINREX” and “Legalización en Embajada de”; Resolución 38/2023 prices legalization at an embassy in Havana under its own section (19.e, $60.00 in the US column), separate from the $40.00 Consular Office item. Everything is paid when the document arrives.

Questions

For questions about the procedure, the consular page publishes phone (202)-797-8518 and email recepcion@usadc.embacuba.cu, Monday to Friday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Official sources

Embassy of Cuba in the US — Servicios consulares (section “Solicitud de documentos a Cuba”)
Anexo 4 — Solicitud de Antecedentes Penales
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 criminal record 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, and $100.00 USD for the criminal-record certificate, paid when the document arrives from Cuba. Without authentication or legalizations that is $120.00 in person or $140.00 by mail (our sum; the page charges authentication and legalizations según corresponda, as applicable).

What does the criminal record request form ask for?

The Anexo 4 form asks for first and second given names, first and second surnames, place of birth (city or town, municipality, province, country), citizenship, date of birth, nationality, sex, marital status, skin color, profession or occupation, father’s and mother’s names, Cuban identity card number, passport number, and last address of residence in Cuba with street, number, cross streets, neighborhood, municipality and province.

Can I pay by card, check or another company's money order?

No. The consular page says to use USPS Postal Money Orders and that if you use another money order the request will be returned, because the office cannot accept any other form of payment for personal procedures.

How long does it take, and how long is the certificate valid?

The Spanish-language consular services page, checked October 3, 2026, publishes neither a processing time nor a validity period. It says that when the office receives the document from Cuba, the applicant is contacted to make the delivery payments.

Is this the same as an FBI record check?

No. The Cuban criminal record certificate is a Cuban document requested from Cuba through the consulate. A US criminal history record is a different document with a different process; see our guide to FBI background checks.

Is the $20 refunded if the procedure is not completed?

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.

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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.