Salvadoran birth certificate from the US: US$35 online via simple.sv

A certified Salvadoran birth certificate (certificación de partida de nacimiento) is issued by the Registro Nacional de las Personas Naturales (RNPN), and from the United States it is requested online at simple.sv, the Salvadoran government’s digital services window. No consulate visit is involved. The listed price for the Certificación de partidas en el exterior (certificate requested from abroad) is US$35.00, against US$5.00 inside El Salvador (fees listed on simple.sv, checked October 3, 2026). simple.sv gives an average turnaround of 24 business hours. The point people miss: the certificate never expires, but several consular procedures only accept a recent one.

Versión en español

Key facts

ItemDetail (checked October 3, 2026)
Issued byRNPN (Registro Nacional de las Personas Naturales)
Where to request it from the USsimple.sv → Certificación de partidas → Ciudadano. Request type: electronic
Fee from abroadUS$35.00 Certificación de partidas en el exterior (simple.sv; the RNPN page states the same)
Fee inside El SalvadorUS$5.00 Certificación de partida de El Salvador (simple.sv)
Average time24 business hours from submission of the request form (simple.sv)
Expiration“el certificado obtenido no posee vencimiento” — the certificate does not expire (simple.sv)
SignatureDigitized signature verified by QR code (RNPN)
Can someone else request it?Yes, “sin documento de autorización” — without an authorization document (simple.sv)

Step by step

  1. Open the request. On simple.sv, choose Certificación de partidas (Ciudadano) and start the request. The foreign ministry also points users to simple.sv or market.gob.sv to get the certificate.
  2. Enter the record details (see the list below).
  3. Pay US$35.00. The RNPN says payment can be made “en efectivo o de manera electrónica” — in cash or electronically — through the enabled channels.
  4. Wait for the response. The average is 24 business hours. As for a maximum, simple.sv says the response depends on how efficiently and quickly the local family registry (Registro del Estado Familiar) handles the request.
  5. Check the document. The RNPN signs with a digitized signature verified by QR code and states that, for that reason, the document should not be rejected and has full validity.

What details you need

The two official pages ask for similar but not identical details. Have both sets ready:

simple.sv (request page)RNPN (service page, published September 26, 2022)
Name of the registered personName of the person
Date of the eventDate of birth
Place of registrationPlace of birth
Any other details from the record you haveParents’ names, if known

Because the system searches using the details you provide, the RNPN warns that if the record cannot be found or is deteriorated, it issues the corresponding certificate or notice so the matter can continue.

How long it takes: two different official figures

simple.sv, where the request is actually made, states 24 business hours from submission of the request form. The RNPN’s service page (published September 26, 2022) says “2 hora”. This guide uses the simple.sv figure because it is the live transactional page, but neither page sets a hard maximum: the real time depends on the local family registry where the birth is recorded.

It does not expire, but procedures want a recent one

simple.sv says the certificate does not expire, and the RNPN says it “no posee vigencia” and that acceptance depends on the institution receiving it. In practice, consular procedures set their own limits (foreign ministry pages published December 9, 2020):

  • First-time DUI at a consulate: an original, recent certificate “que no exceda de 12 meses” — no more than 12 months old. See the guide to the DUI at the consulate and to online DUI renewal.
  • A minor’s passport: for a first passport or a replacement (theft, robbery or loss), a certificate no more than one year old at the time of the application; for a renewal, the certificate is only required if there are new annotations (paternity recognitions or adoptions), and then under the same one-year rule. See minor’s passport.
  • Passport authorization for a minor: the ministry recommends it be no more than 6 months old.

The RNPN lists among the most common uses of the certificate: issuing the DUI, identification in personal procedures, registering children, and claiming benefits before an AFP pension fund or other institution.

Is it still free? No

On October 11, 2023, the Legislative Assembly approved that, for 60 days, Salvadorans abroad could obtain the certificate without paying the US$35 set by the RNPN’s organic law, as a temporary measure to help them get a DUI ahead of the 2024 elections. That window closed long ago: simple.sv and the RNPN list US$35.00 (checked October 3, 2026).

Do not confuse it with other documents

  • Consular family-registry certificate. If the event was registered at a Salvadoran consulate, the consulate issues its own certificate for US$10.00 (foreign ministry page updated July 10, 2024). It is a different document from the RNPN’s.
  • Other documents on the same simple.sv page: Constancia de inexistencia US$3.00, Certificación de NO partida US$3.00, and Certificación de registro histórico US$8.00 (prices as shown on that page).
  • Marriage or death records. The RNPN service is named generically (“la o las partidas”), and the sources checked do not confirm whether the US$35 price applies the same way to those records; check simple.sv before paying. To record in the Salvadoran registry a marriage or death that happened in the US, see marriage registration and death registration.
  • A US birth certificate. If your child was born in the US, the state issues that record: see vital records by state and registering the child at the consulate.

Apostille

The foreign ministry is the only authority that apostilles Salvadoran documents and says that in El Salvador the apostille is free. Birth records are on the document list the Presidency published on February 24, 2022 for the electronic apostille portal, which can be used “desde cualquier parte del mundo” — from anywhere in the world. Details in apostille of Salvadoran documents.

Your US immigration status

The requirements simple.sv publishes are details from the record itself. They do not ask for US immigration documents, and a third party can make the request without authorization.

Official sources

Last verified: 2026-10-03. General procedural information for educational purposes. Fees, processing times, and requirements of Salvadoran institutions change. Verify directly with the RNPN or on simple.sv before paying. Not legal advice.