Legalizing Documents

In order for your American documentation to be usable in Cuba, they must be legalized by the Cuban Embassy in Washington DC.

Once you have done the following:

• Got your certified true copies of your identity documents, and
• Got those copies authenticated by the State Department in Washington, DC, and
• Got those authenticated copies translated into Spanish and notarized,

it is now (finally) time to get your documents legalized at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, DC.

What is Legalization?

Legalization was one of the ways by which one country accepted the legal documents of a second country as legal in that first country. The Apostille Convention replaces legalization with new, standardized practices. However, Cuba, like many countries, has not signed or ratified the convention so they still use legalization to make foreign documents legal.

Why do my Documents Need to Legalized?

Because Cuba is not a signatory to the Apostille Convention, the convention that established practices to abolish legalization. So documents must be legalized at the Cuban embassy in America in order for them to be used in Cuba. You must have both the English and Spanish documents when you go to the Embassy.

What Happens at the Embassy?

A Cuban official will review your English certified copies of your documents, which have been authenticated by the state department, and will review the notarized translations into Spanish. Once the official is satisfied that the English documents are authentic and the Spanish translations are valid, they will “legalize” the Spanish translations for use in Cuba.

We strongly suggest speaking to a Cuban marriage expert before going to the Cuban Embassy or, alternatively, hiring an expert to handle this part of the process.

Processing Time

You should allow at least 4 weeks in order for the Cuban embassy to legalize your documents. Remember, you are having your documents legalized by the diplomatic mission of a Communist country. You cannot expect efficiency. There is no way to speed this up. So don’t book your flight too early.

Checklist Before You Go to the Cuban Embassy

You need to make sure you have completed all of the below steps before going to the Cuban Embassy.

• Gathered your original identity documents
• Had certified true copies of your identity documents produced by your home state
• Had your certified true copies authenticated by the State Department
• Had your authenticated copies translated into Spanish and notarized.

Once your documents are legalized, you are (finally) ready to get married in Cuba. The legalization is valid for 6 months from the date on the legalization.

Learn about travelling to Cuba as an American Citizen

Apostille Signatories

If you choose marry in another country, the following countries are signatories to the Apostille Convention and do not required legalization of American documents before you travel: