Nicaragua birth certificate from the US: C$120 at the CSE registry

Nicaraguan birth certificates are issued by the Civil Registry, which is part of the Supreme Electoral Council (Consejo Supremo Electoral, CSE). According to the CSE, they are requested at a window inside Nicaragua: the Civil Registries of each municipality, the Central Civil Registry, Servigob, and the windows of the Departmental and Regional Electoral Councils. A certificate costs C$ 120.00 (córdobas) and a full-text (literal) certification C$ 300.00 (fees published by the CSE, checked October 3, 2026; CSE pages carry no date). The CSE publishes no online request. From the United States there are two routes with an official basis: someone in Nicaragua files for you (the registrant’s parents, siblings, grandparents and children need no power of attorney, per the CSE), or the consular route set by Ley 710, with a US$ 20 fee.

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Key facts

ItemDetail (checked October 3, 2026)
IssuerCivil Registry of the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE)
Where to requestWindows in Nicaragua: municipal Civil Registries, Central Registry, Servigob, Departmental and Regional Electoral Councils
Birth certificateC$ 120.00 (CSE)
Single-record birth certificate (certificado único)C$ 120.00 (CSE)
Full-text (literal) certificationC$ 300.00 (CSE)
Consular route under the lawUS$ 20 (Ley 710, Art. 3 table, row I.3)
Online orderingNot published; the CSE offers only verification by print code
Processing time and validityNot published by the CSE
ApostilleNot done by the Central Registry; done by the Foreign Ministry (CSE)

The three documents the Civil Registry issues

The CSE publishes three variants, each with its fee in córdobas:

  • Birth certificate (certificado de nacimiento) — C$ 120.00. Requirement: the registrant’s general details and/or a photocopy of the birth record.
  • Single-record birth certificate (certificado único de nacimiento) — C$ 120.00. According to the CSE, it is the document stating that the person does not have more than one registry entry. Same details required.
  • Full-text certification (certificación literal) — C$ 300.00. It copies the full content of the record. The CSE lists a special power of attorney (Poder Especial de Representación) and a photocopy of the birth or replacement certificate as requirements, and adds that for a recent annotation a photocopy of that document must be presented.

The CSE does not say which of the three a given institution requires. That is set by whoever will receive the document.

How to request it while living in the United States

Route 1: a relative requests it in Nicaragua

The CSE note on the certificate page says that any request made by the person on the record, or by their father, mother, sibling, grandparent or child, does not require a power of attorney (’no requiere Poder de Representación’). If the spouse or partner files, they must present a photocopy of the marriage or stable de facto union certificate.

Route 2: someone else, with a power of attorney

If the person filing is not one of those relatives, the CSE note implies a power of attorney is needed; for the literal certification the CSE expressly requires a ‘Poder Especial de Representación’. To grant a power of attorney at a consulate, Ley 710 sets US$ 100 «Por autorizar poderes, sustituciones y revocaciones y el libramiento del testimonio correspondiente» (table II.1). In answering a question about a different Central Registry procedure (annulment of an entry), the CSE says a special power requested at a consulate must be sent «en original y con la debida Apostilla o Legalización» (in original and with the due apostille or legalization). More in Nicaragua power of attorney at a US consulate.

Route 3: the consular route set by Ley 710

Ley 710, the Consular Services Fee Law (La Gaceta 67, April 13, 2010), which the National Assembly’s legal database lists as in force, sets in its Art. 3 table a fee of US$ 20 «Por Certificación de cualquier asiento registral emitida por el Registro del Estado Civil de las Personas en Nicaragua y su remisión al Consulado correspondiente» (certification of any registry entry issued by the Civil Registry in Nicaragua and its delivery to the corresponding consulate). Under its Art. 2, consulates «cobrarán únicamente las tasas por servicios establecidas en la presente Ley» (shall charge only the fees set in this law), payable in US dollars or the equivalent in the currency of the country where the transaction takes place.

That is what the law says; it does not confirm that a consulate offers the service today. On October 3, 2026 the Foreign Ministry website did not resolve and its appointment portal rejected requests, so we could not confirm the procedure, timing or payment method. Our Nicaragua consulate directory lists three offices serving the public in the US (Miami, New York and Washington, D.C.), based on 2024 press reports. To find yours, you can also use the consulate appointment locator.

Step by step (route in Nicaragua)

Two CSE distinctions for the route inside Nicaragua (checked October 17, 2026):

  • Its death-certificate page states a rule for any procedure at the Central Registry Directorate’s offices: the interested person must present a Cédula de Identidad.
  • A certificate request differs from a new registration. The CSE FAQ says the Central Registry only registers naturalized citizens; other registrations take place at municipal civil registries.
  1. Decide who will file. A relative the CSE exempts from the power of attorney, a spouse or partner with their photocopy, or an agent with a power.
  2. Send them the registrant’s details: names, general details and, if you have one, a photocopy of the birth record.
  3. Filing at a window. At a municipal Civil Registry, the Central Registry, Servigob, or a Departmental or Regional Electoral Council. The CSE FAQ also lists Multicentro las Américas among the places to request birth certificates.
  4. Payment in córdobas: C$ 120.00 or C$ 300.00, depending on the document (CSE, checked October 3, 2026).
  5. Verification. The CSE’s ‘Consulta de certificados’ page checks a certificate by its print code.
  6. Apostille, if the document will leave the country. Handled separately, at the Foreign Ministry (see below).

Requirements by who files

Who filesWhat they present (CSE)
The registrant, or their father, mother, sibling, grandparent or childRegistrant’s general details and/or photocopy of the birth record; no power of attorney
Spouse or partnerThe above plus a photocopy of the marriage or stable de facto union certificate
Anyone elseA power of attorney (the CSE expressly requires a ‘Poder Especial de Representación’ for the literal certification)

If the birth was registered at a consulate

Another statutory exemption: Ley 710, Art. 4 j, also exempts services required by Nicaraguans in extreme vulnerability who need consular protection. That situation must be duly justified under the criteria established in the law’s regulations. The article’s final paragraph describes those services as expedited and free (law published April 13, 2010; checked October 17, 2026).

When a birth was registered at a Nicaraguan consulate, Ley 710 (Art. 3 table, row I.1) sets for certifications of those entries US$ 10 for a ‘Certificación Conducente’ and US$ 15 for a ‘Certificación Literal’. The birth registration itself is free (Art. 4 a exempts «Inscripciones de hechos vitales (nacimiento y defunción)»), and Art. 4 b exempts the first certificate only when it is the first birth certification issued on the occasion of a registration made within the first year after the birth.

The General Law on Migration and Foreign Nationals, Ley 761 (Art. 51), lists among the documents that prove Nicaraguan nationality a certificate of birth registration issued by Nicaraguan diplomatic or consular offices abroad, «debidamente autenticado por el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores» (duly authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). On registering children born in the US, see registering a US-born child with Nicaragua.

What you cannot do from the US (based on what is published)

  • Order it online from the CSE. We found no online request channel, only verification by print code.
  • Get it apostilled at the Civil Registry. The CSE answers: ‘No, Registro Central solo certifica las actas, la Auténtica y Apostilla se realiza ante Cancillería General de la República.’
  • Know the processing time and validity in advance. The CSE does not publish how long the certificate takes or how long institutions accept it.

Using the certificate in the US or another country

Nicaragua has been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since May 14, 2013, according to the status table of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). The apostille is issued by the Foreign Ministry in Managua; its website was unavailable on October 3, 2026, so we publish no fee or processing time. See apostilling Nicaraguan documents.

Your US immigration status

The requirements the CSE publishes for this certificate concern the registrant’s details and the relationship of the person filing. They do not ask for US immigration documents.

Official sources

Last verified: 2026-10-17. General procedural information for educational purposes. CSE fees and consular fees can change, and CSE pages carry no date. Verify directly with the Civil Registry of the Supreme Electoral Council or with your consulate. Not legal advice.