NICARAGUA · CERTIFIED TRANSLATION
Certified Translation of Nicaragua Documents for USCIS
Nicaragua is unusual in that its civil records are kept by the Registro Civil de las Personas under the Consejo Supremo Electoral (the national electoral authority), with day-to-day registration handled by each municipality's Alcaldia and a central registry in Managua. As a result, a Nicaraguan birth, marriage, or death certificate carries an electoral-council seal and registrar signature block rather than the health-ministry format USCIS officers see from many other countries. Records are in Spanish and use the two-surname convention (apellido paterno and apellido materno), and older entries are frequently handwritten "certificaciones literales" transcribed from bound ledgers. Since Nicaragua joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 2013, these documents are authenticated with a single apostille from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) - but USCIS still requires a separate, complete certified English translation of every page.
Updated July 11, 2026 · Reviewed by Victor Luján, Founder — certified translations since 2018
DOCUMENTS FROM NICARAGUA
Pick Your Document
Nicaraguan Birth Certificate →
Nicaraguan Marriage Certificate →
Nicaraguan Divorce Decree →
Nicaraguan Death Certificate →
Nicaraguan Diploma →
Nicaraguan Academic Transcript →
Nicaraguan Police Record →
Nicaraguan Single Status Certificate →
GOOD TO KNOW
Issuing Authority & Authentication
Civil records in Nicaragua are issued by the Registro Civil de las Personas (Civil Registry of Persons), operated under the Consejo Supremo Electoral (Supreme Electoral Council) · official language(s): Spanish. Nicaragua joined the Hague Apostille Convention (in force since 14 May 2013), so its public documents are authenticated with a single apostille from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) rather than US embassy/consular legalization. Academic documents must first be certified by MINED (secondary) or the CNU (university) before the apostille can be attached.
Every document above is translated by a native specialist, reviewed by a second linguist, and delivered with a signed Certificate of Accuracy that USCIS accepts under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) — or we fix it free and cover your resubmission fee.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Does USCIS require an apostille on my Nicaraguan documents, or just a certified translation?
USCIS itself does not require an apostille. Under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) it requires a complete English translation accompanied by the translator's signed Certificate of Accuracy. An apostille from MINREX proves the document's authenticity and is often requested by consulates or courts, but for a USCIS filing the certified translation is the essential piece. Translation HelpDesk provides that certified translation; you obtain any apostille separately in Nicaragua.
My Nicaraguan birth certificate is handwritten and hard to read - can it still be translated?
Yes. Many older partidas transcribed from municipal ledgers are handwritten in cursive and can be faded. Our native-Spanish specialists carefully transcribe archaic and worn entries and mark anything genuinely unreadable as '[illegible]' so the translation stays faithful and USCIS-compliant.
How should my two Nicaraguan surnames appear in the English translation?
We keep the Nicaraguan order - apellido paterno followed by apellido materno - exactly as it appears on the original, because reordering surnames can create mismatches with your passport and petition. If a specific form needs a particular arrangement, we flag it rather than silently changing the name order.
How much does translating a Nicaraguan civil document cost and how fast is it?
Certified translation is $0.05 per word, so a typical birth, marriage, or death certificate runs about $15-25 total, with 24-48 hour turnaround and a free 250-word sample. Every job includes a signed Certificate of Accuracy meeting 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) and is backed by our USCIS Rejection Pledge - if a translation is rejected for accuracy, we fix it free and cover the resubmission fee.