Registering a US marriage in Cuba

A Cuban citizen’s marriage performed before US authorities is recognized in Cuba through marriage transcription (transcripción de matrimonio) at the Cuban consular office, the only one in the country, inside the Cuban Embassy in Washington, DC. The consular page puts it this way: the marriage “se debe transcribir en la Oficina Consular correspondiente, para su reconocimiento final en Cuba” (must be transcribed at the consular office for its final recognition in Cuba). The fees are $140.00 USD to legalize the original certificate, $140.00 USD to legalize its Spanish translation and $140.00 USD for the transcription, plus $20.00 USD if filed by mail, paid only by USPS Postal Money Order (fees published by the Cuban Consular Office in Washington, checked October 3, 2026). The key condition: the US certificate must arrive authenticated by the issuing state and by the federal Department of State, with a notarized translation.

Versión en español

Costs

ItemAmount (USD)
Legalization of the original marriage certificate$140.00
Legalization of the Spanish translation$140.00
Transcription$140.00
Non-personal fee (mail only)$20.00
Total in person (our sum)$420.00
Total by mail (our sum)$440.00

Items published by the Cuban Consular Office in Washington on its consular services page, checked October 3, 2026. The totals are our arithmetic.

Timeframe. The Spanish-language consular services page, checked October 3, 2026, does not publish how long transcription takes.

What each payment buys

Cuba’s Resolución 38/2023, signed June 29, 2023, describes the $140.00 transcription line (section 19.h, United States column) as issuing a certified copy of the entry in the Civil Registry of marriage transcriptions and sending it to the Special Registry of the Ministry of Justice for its definitive entry, after legalization. In other words, the consulate records the marriage and forwards it to the Ministry of Justice’s Special Registry in Cuba.

The other two items reflect the rule in Annex II, Article 12 of the same Resolución: every document issued abroad for use in Cuba must be legalized and certified by the consular office, and offices whose jurisdiction covers territories with official languages other than Spanish require a Spanish translation, with “tanto el original como la traducción, deben ser legalizados y certificados” (both the original and the translation must be legalized and certified).

By contrast, registrations and transcriptions relating to birth and death are exempt from fees under the Resolución (Cuarto, item d). Marriage is not in that exemption.

Documents the consulate requires

According to the consular page:

  1. Marriage transcription request form, properly completed: Anexo 14, Modelo 11/30 Modificado.
  2. Original marriage certificate, authenticated by the Department of State of the state that issued it and by the federal Department of State.
  3. Spanish translation of the marriage document, certified by a Notary Public.
  4. Photocopies of both spouses’ birth certificates.
  5. Photocopies of both spouses’ passports.

If you do not yet have a certified copy of the US marriage certificate, see where to order one in the guide to vital records by state.

What Modelo 11/30 Modificado asks for

The request is addressed to the Consul General of Cuba in Washington and is written in the first person by the Cuban spouse: it asks that, “en virtud de mi condición de ciudadano cubano” (by virtue of my status as a Cuban citizen), the marriage be transcribed in the Special Civil Status Registry, to meet the requirements of Ley 51, the Civil Status Registry Law. For each spouse it asks for:

  • Given name(s), first and second surname, and citizenship
  • The Civil Registry where the person is recorded, with tomo and folio
  • Place and date of birth
  • Passport or identity number
  • Marital status before the marriage, and occupation
  • Father’s and mother’s full names
  • Permanent address

And for the marriage certificate: where the marriage took place (municipality, state and country), tomo and folio, date of the marriage, and the name and title of the official who issued the certificate. The Cuban spouse and the consular officer sign it.

Step by step

  1. Obtain the original US marriage certificate.
  2. Authenticate it twice: with the Department of State of the issuing state and with the federal Department of State.
  3. Translate it into Spanish and have the translation certified by a Notary Public.
  4. Fill in Modelo 11/30 Modificado and gather the photocopies of both spouses’ birth certificates and passports.
  5. File the package through one of the three channels 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).
    • By mail: Embassy of the Republic of Cuba, 2630 16th St NW, Washington DC 20009, with an unsealed prepaid return envelope per applicant (the page recommends tracking and a 9.65 USD stamp).
    • Through an agency with a contract with the consular office.
  6. Pay by USPS Postal Money Order; the page warns that any other money order means the request is returned. 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.

If the marriage took place in Cuba

Transcription is for marriages performed outside Cuba. If the marriage took place in Cuba and you need the certificate, that procedure is the marriage certificate (certificación de matrimonio), requested from Cuba with the Anexo 5 form: $20.00 request fee (plus $20.00 by mail) and $100.00 on delivery, according to the consular page checked October 3, 2026. It works the same way as the Cuban birth certificate from the US; the fee for every certificate is in the Cuban civil registry certificates table.

If a foreign citizen is going to marry in Cuba, the documents they bring are legalized under a different payment scheme; see legalizing US documents for Cuba.

Official sources

Last verified: 2026-10-03. General procedural information for educational purposes. Fees, forms and requirements 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.