We identify the authority or archive holding the record and check whether it is available for issue.
Documents · Civil Records
Civil status certificatesobtained worldwide
We obtain repeat certificates and official extracts on birth, marriage, divorce, death and change of name, and arrange apostille, legalisation, translation and international delivery where required.
BRIDGES GLOBAL arranges the issue of civil status documents in international jurisdictions — both for clients located in the country of issue and for those living abroad.
If the document has been lost or was issued many years ago, we check the relevant register or archive and identify the available procedure for obtaining a repeat document or an official extract.
Document retrieval — from €100The cost depends on the country, the type of document, the archive, the urgency and the additional procedures required.Apostille, translation, certification and delivery are calculated separately or included in the selected package.
Turnkey document
From the entry in the register to the document in your hands
The client comes with a situation, not with a list of procedures: we run the chain from there.
We request a repeat document or an official extract in the country of registration — under a power of attorney from you.
We arrange the form of recognition applicable to the destination country.
A sworn or certified translation and the form of certification the recipient requires.
International courier delivery of the original with tracking.
Catalogue
Which civil status documents we obtain
The set of forms depends on the country: we show what the legislation of the particular state provides for. Pick a type — it goes straight into the order card.
Possible forms of the document
- Birth certificate
- Repeat birth certificate
- Extract from the birth record
- Full birth record entry, where such a form exists
Possible forms of the document
- Marriage certificate
- Repeat marriage certificate
- Extract on the marriage registration
Possible forms of the document
- Divorce certificate
- Extract on the divorce registration
Possible forms of the document
- Death certificate
- Repeat death certificate
- Extract from the relevant register
Possible forms of the document
- Record of a change of name or surname
- Confirmation of the previous name
Possible forms of the document
- Archive certificate on the record
- Copy of the archived entry
Document lost
If the certificate has been lost or destroyed
If the original certificate has been lost, damaged or is no longer available, BRIDGES GLOBAL checks whether it is possible to obtain a repeat document, an official extract or another form of confirmation of the relevant record provided for by law.
Depending on the country, the request goes to
- the civil registry
- an archive
- a municipal authority
- a state register
- a consular office
- another competent authority
Old records
Documents issued many years ago
Clients often do not know where the act was registered, which authority existed at that time and where the archive was transferred. That is a normal situation: finding the record is part of the work.
What may be unknown
- where the act was registered
- the exact date
- the record number
- which authority existed at the time
- where the archive was transferred
- whether the former registry office still exists
- where the original entry is held
- 01Finding the record
- 02Identifying the archive
- 03Requesting the document
- 04Obtaining the available official form
In legal terms this is the issue of a repeat document or an archive extract, not the “restoration” of a lost original.
After citizenship
Documents after obtaining citizenship
After a new citizenship is obtained, a civil status document provided for by the legislation of the relevant country may be required: a birth or marriage certificate, confirmation of a change of name or an extract from the new register.
A new citizenship does not mean a new birth certificate is issued automatically: the possibility and the procedure depend on the legislation of the particular country — we check this before the work starts.
Error in the record
Correcting and amending a civil status record
Sometimes the problem is not the missing document but the record itself. That is a separate procedure, not a repeat issue.
- an error in the name
- an error in the date
- transliteration
- a change of name
- a change of other data
- an amendment provided for by law
BRIDGES GLOBAL coordinates the analysis of the procedure and the work of a local specialist. Where an amendment can only be made by a court decision, we do not promise an administrative correction.
Packages
Three ways to order the document
from €100
- Check of the record in the register or archive
- Request to the competent authority of the issuing country
- Receipt of the available official form of the document
Price on calculation
- Everything included in the document retrieval
- Apostille or consular legalisation — by destination country
- Check of the recognition procedure before the work starts
Price on calculation
- Document retrieval and legalisation
- Translation and the required form of certification
- International delivery of the original with tracking
- Check of the set against the recipient’s requirements
Geography
Obtaining documents in international jurisdictions
The procedure for a repeat issue, access to the archive and the form of recognition depend on the country. Below are the routes we work on regularly.
Document sets
Documents for a specific procedure
Birth and marriage certificates, confirmation of a change of name, archive records, police certificates, apostilles and translations — in one set.
Prepare documents for citizenship →Certificates, police clearance, education documents, apostilles and translations to the requirements of the receiving country.
Prepare the residence set →Documents confirming birth, marriage, death, change of name and the family relationship between the deceased and the heirs.
Prepare documents for inheritance →What happens next
Apostille, legalisation and translation in the same chain
A certification by the competent authority of the issuing country, where it applies to the document and to the route of its use.
Document + apostille →The recognition procedure for countries where the apostille does not apply: successive certifications and the consulate of the destination country.
Document + legalisation →A sworn or certified translation and notarial certification — as required by the destination country.
Document + translation →Questions and answers
Frequent questions about certificates and records
In most countries yes, but what is issued is not a “duplicate of the original”: it is a repeat document or an official extract from the record. The possibility and the form depend on the legislation of the country of registration and on whether the record has survived.
That is separate work: we identify the registry authority of that period, check where the archive was transferred and request the document where the record is held now. We confirm the result of the search before the main procedure starts.
As a rule no: the request is handled under a power of attorney. Where the law requires personal presence or proof of kinship, we tell you before the work starts.
It depends on the country: some states issue documents only to the person concerned, their representative under a power of attorney or relatives who prove the family relationship. We check the procedure for the specific country.
Document retrieval starts from €100, excluding state fees. The final cost depends on the country, the type of document, the need for an archive search and the urgency. Apostille, translation, certification and delivery are calculated separately.
The time depends on the country and on where the record is held: a current register replies faster than an archive. The country benchmark is shown in the geography block; the exact time is confirmed after the record is checked.
Yes, where the apostille applies to this document and to the route of its use. For countries outside the Hague Convention we arrange consular legalisation.
Yes. Documents for a spouse, children and parents are added in the order card — it is one order and one coordinator, not several separate requests.
That is not a repeat issue but an amendment to the civil status record. We establish whether the correction is made administratively or requires a court decision and coordinate the work of a local specialist.
No. If the record has not survived or the legislation of the country does not provide for the requested form, the document cannot be obtained. We identify such situations at the check stage and say so directly.
from €100Get the document