Objectives: to culturally adapt and validate the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist (SCC) in Brazilian hospitals. Methods: a methodological study was carried out with consensus techniques and cross-cultural adaptation stages. The original SCC underwent three adaptation and validation stages: 1- nominal group with a panel of experts; 2- consensus conference at two maternity schools, in meetings with professionals who would use the list; 3- pre-test with a structured questionnaire for health professionals from both maternities (n=40) after 30 days of using the checklist. Validation criteria contemplated the content validity, adequated to Brazilian protocols, terminology and feasibility for local context. Results: the adapted SCC in Brazil was called the Lista de Verificação para o Parto Seguro - Brasil (LVPS-BR) (Checklist for Safe Childbirth -Brazil) and included 49 items. In the first stage, the 29 items of the original SCC were approved with some adaptations (e.g. CD4 was replaced by the Rapid HIV Test). In the second stage, some of the 29 items were adjusted and added 24 items more. In the third stage, three items were excluded, two were grouped and one more was added. Conclusions: the validation process provided a potentially useful LVPS for the Brazilian context, presenting validity and feasibility evidences for the Brazilian context.