Dominican Citizenship by Descent

People born outside the Dominican Republic to a Dominican mother or father may be entitled to Dominican citizenship by descent. The process generally begins with the transcription of their foreign birth certificate before the Central Electoral Board (JCE).

Yes. Being born in the United States does not prevent you from obtaining Dominican citizenship by descent if your mother or father is Dominican and you meet the applicable requirements.

Your U.S. birth certificate must be apostilled before it can be submitted for transcription in the Dominican Republic. You can review the official transcription requirements published by the Central Electoral Board (JCE).

It is the process through which a birth that occurred outside the Dominican Republic is registered with the Dominican authorities.

Once the transcription is completed, a Dominican birth certificate can be issued in the name of the person born abroad. You can review the official birth transcription requirements published by the Central Electoral Board (JCE).

You can complete our free initial evaluation. We will review the information about your birth and your relationship to your Dominican parent and let you know the documents and next steps applicable to your case.

No. The initial evaluation is free.

You can complete the evaluation form to learn which documents you will need, the next steps, and information about your case before starting the service.

Requirements may vary depending on the country where you were born and the circumstances of your case.

Generally, you will need your foreign birth certificate properly apostilled or legalized, documentation establishing your mother’s or father’s Dominican nationality, and identification documents.

After your evaluation, we will let you know exactly which documents you need.

In many cases, yes. The method used to authenticate the birth certificate depends on the country where it was issued.

During your evaluation, we will let you know whether your document requires an apostille, consular legalization, or another applicable authentication procedure.

When a Spanish translation is required for the process, our service includes arranging the legal translation and its corresponding legalization in the Dominican Republic.

This does not necessarily prevent you from proceeding.

We can evaluate the documentation available and determine whether an additional Dominican record needs to be located or obtained.

Searches or retrieval of missing documents are quoted separately.

Yes. The death of your Dominican parent does not necessarily prevent the transcription from being completed.

We will need to determine which documents are available to establish your relationship to the parent and their Dominican nationality.

Our service is designed to manage the preparation, submission, and follow-up of your application before the Central Electoral Board (JCE) in the Dominican Republic, reducing the need for you to travel to the country for this stage of the process.

Dominican Vital Records offers its service for managing the birth transcription required for Dominican Citizenship by Descent starting at US$439.

The service includes professional review and preparation of your application, required translations and legalizations, submission and follow-up before the Central Electoral Board (JCE), two Dominican birth certificates upon completion, and standard international shipping.

Dominican Vital Records offers a complete foreign birth certificate transcription service for Dominican Citizenship by Descent starting at US$439.

The price covers our professional service, including preparation and management of the application before the JCE, required translations and legalizations, follow-up throughout the process, two Dominican birth certificates, and standard international shipping.

The service includes:

• Professional review of your documentation.
• Preparation of your application file.
• Legal translation into Spanish, when required.
• Legalization of translations and required documents.
• Submission of your application to the Central Electoral Board (JCE).
• Follow-up throughout the transcription process.
• Management of administrative observations during the process.
• Two Dominican birth certificates upon completion.
• Standard international shipping of your birth certificates.

For a regular case, the services described above are covered by the stated price.

Additional costs may apply if missing Dominican documents need to be located or obtained, if corrections require extraordinary procedures, or if additional services such as express international shipping are requested.

Any additional service will be communicated and quoted separately.

Yes. When required for the application, legal translation into Spanish and the corresponding legalizations in the Dominican Republic are included in the regular service starting at US$439.

Yes. The service includes standard international shipping of your Dominican birth certificates upon completion of the process.

If you prefer express international courier service, it can be quoted separately.

The primary applicant can start the service from US$439.

If additional children or siblings also qualify for Dominican Citizenship by Descent, Dominican Vital Records may offer a special rate for each additional family member.

The final family quote is determined after reviewing the family group.

Processing time depends on the Central Electoral Board (JCE) and the circumstances of each application. Dominican Vital Records cannot guarantee a specific approval timeframe.

We follow up on the application throughout the process and keep the client informed of relevant updates or administrative observations.

Upon completion, you will receive two copies of your Dominican birth certificate.

These birth certificates will allow you to continue with your Dominican identification process, including applying for your Dominican Cédula and, subsequently, your Dominican passport.

The Cédula and Dominican passport are not included in this service.