Countries › Colombia
Using a U.S. document in Colombia
Step by step
- Get a certified copy of the document from the issuing office.
- Get an apostille from the competent authority of the U.S. state where the document was issued; federal documents (e.g., FBI background check) are apostilled by the U.S. Department of State.
- Have it translated into Spanish by an authorized translator (Cancillería requires translation when the document is not in Spanish).
- Present it at the Colombian consulate (e.g., for registro civil) or to the Colombian authority that requested it.
Translation
Cancillería's civil registry page states that foreign documents 'must be apostilled and/or legalized as the case may be' and 'translated by an authorized translator if they are in a language other than Spanish'. For births abroad it requires the 'foreign birth record duly apostilled or legalized and translated'.
Common uses
- Register the birth of a child born abroad to a Colombian parent (registro civil de nacimiento)
- Register a marriage celebrated abroad (registro civil de matrimonio)
- Register a death that occurred abroad (registro civil de defunción)
Important
Cancillería states that a document from a Hague Convention country must be apostilled by the competent authority of the country of origin to be valid in Colombia. Birth registration is due within one month of the birth (later is a late registration); consular registration of marriages and deaths is free. Copies of a civil registry record can be requested only from the consulate where the original registration was made.
Which state issued your document?
Apostille fee and processing time in that state.
Sources
See the official sources (4)
- https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41
- https://cancilleria.gov.co/atencion-y-servicio-al-ciudadano/tramites-y-servicios/tramites-en-el-exterior/registro-civil
- https://cancilleria.gov.co/atencion-y-servicio-al-ciudadano/tramites-y-servicios/apostilla-y-legalizacion-en-linea/que-es-apostilla
- https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/records-and-authentications/authenticate-your-document/apostille-requirements.html
Editor's note
HCCH: accession 2000-04-27, in force 2001-01-30; a declaration by Colombia is listed but its text was not shown; no U.S. objection listed. The Cancillería pages do not define who counts as an 'authorized translator' or whether the translation itself must be apostilled; not verified. No individual U.S.-based Colombian consulate page was reviewed. travel.state.gov country page could not be retrieved (blocked).