Certificate of Translation: Requirements, Steps, and Costs

To get a certificate of translation, you give your foreign-language document to a translator who is competent in both languages, and they produce an English translation with a signed statement attached declaring that the translation is complete and accurate and that they are qualified to translate between the two languages. That signed statement is the “certificate,” and once it is attached, the package is a certified translation ready to submit to USCIS, a court, a university, or another institution that requires one.

What a Certificate of Translation Is

A certificate of translation is not a license the translator holds. It is a short declaration, signed and dated, that travels with the translated document. Federal immigration regulations spell out what it has to say: the translator certifies that the English translation is complete and accurate, and that they are competent to translate from the foreign language into English.¹ Attach that statement to the translation, attach the translation to the foreign-language original, and you have what USCIS and most other agencies mean by a certified translation.

Certified translations show up most often in immigration filings. Birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, police records, bank statements, and academic transcripts all need one before you can submit them with a naturalization application, visa petition, or adjustment of status. Courts and universities ask for the same thing when they receive foreign-language evidence or credentials.

Who Can Sign the Certificate

In the United States there is no federal license required to translate documents or to certify a translation. The profession is largely unregulated compared to law or medicine, and there is no all-purpose credential comparable to passing the bar exam.² Any person competent in both the source and target languages can translate a document and sign the certification statement.¹

Legally, a bilingual friend or family member can do it. Practically, agencies flag translations from unqualified individuals more often than those from professional translators, and if USCIS suspects a translation is inaccurate, an officer can require the translator to appear and confirm both their language competence and the accuracy of their work.³ For anything longer than a short, simple document, hiring a professional translator or agency is usually the cheaper choice once you account for delays if a homemade translation is rejected.

What the Certificate Must Include

The regulation itself is short: complete and accurate translation, plus translator competence in both languages.¹ A workable certification statement adds the details that let an officer identify who prepared it and what it covers:

The translator’s full name, typed or printed rather than only signed.
The translator’s signature.
The date of certification.
The translator’s contact information, at minimum a mailing address.
A description of the document translated and the languages involved.

The U.S. Department of State publishes a suggested wording that covers everything the regulation requires. It reads roughly: “I [name] certify that I am fluent in English and [foreign language], and that the attached document is an accurate translation of the document entitled [document name],” followed by the translator’s signature, date, name, and address.⁴ Each translated document needs its own certification statement. A single blanket statement covering several translations will not do.

Step by Step

The whole process typically takes a few days to two weeks, depending on document length and the translator’s workload.

Gather your originals or clear, legible copies. Missing pages, blurry scans, and illegible handwriting force translators to guess and cause delays.
Check the requesting authority’s specific requirements before you order. USCIS requirements differ from what a court or university might ask for, and some institutions want notarization on top of certification.
Choose a translator. Professional agencies, freelance translators from professional directories, and online translation platforms all work. Experience with your document type matters. An agency that files immigration paperwork daily will know USCIS formatting expectations.
Submit the document and get a quote. Most agencies accept documents through secure online portals, email, or in person. Pricing usually depends on page count, language pair, and turnaround time.
Review the finished translation. Check that names, dates, and key details match the original, and confirm the certification statement is attached and includes every required element. Errors caught before submission are far less painful than errors caught after.

Delivery is usually a PDF, a mailed hard copy, or in-person pickup. For a USCIS filing, the certified translation must be attached to the foreign-language original when you submit the application.

What It Costs

Professional certified translation typically runs $25 to $80 per page for common language pairs like Spanish-English or Chinese-English, with a standard page defined as roughly 250 words. Rare language pairs and specialized documents such as medical records or technical patents cost more, sometimes $0.15 to $0.40 per word. Same-day or 24-hour turnaround usually adds a surcharge.

For a typical immigration filing with a birth certificate and a marriage certificate, expect somewhere between $50 and $200 total. Longer documents like academic transcripts or court judgments cost more simply because they contain more text.

Certified Translation vs. Notarized Translation

These are not the same thing, and confusing them is one of the most common mistakes people make. A certified translation stands on the translator’s own signed declaration of accuracy. A notarized translation adds a step: a notary public witnesses the translator signing the certification statement and applies a notarial seal.

The notary is verifying the translator’s identity, nothing more. A notary who does not speak the foreign language cannot assess whether the translation is accurate, and that responsibility stays entirely with the translator.

USCIS does not require notarization. The federal regulation asks only for the translator’s certification statement.¹ Some foreign governments, certain courts, and organizations processing documents for international use do require notarization on top of certification. Notary fees are set by state law and typically run $5 to $25 per signature. Check with the requesting authority before paying for notarization you may not need.

Mistakes That Get Translations Rejected

USCIS officers see the same problems repeatedly. When a translation does not meet requirements, the agency issues a Request for Evidence, which delays a case by weeks or months. The errors that cause the most rejections:

No certification statement attached. A translation without the signed statement is not a certified translation, and USCIS will not accept it.³
Incomplete certification language. The statement must cover both the accuracy of the translation and the translator’s competence in both languages. Leaving out either element gives grounds for rejection.
Summaries instead of full translations. USCIS explicitly states that a summary of a document prepared by a translator is unacceptable. Only full translations qualify.³
Name and date inconsistencies. If a name is transliterated differently in the translation than it appears elsewhere in your application, or dates are formatted inconsistently, expect questions. Use U.S. date formatting (MM/DD/YYYY) unless the requesting authority specifies otherwise.
Poor source document quality. Blurry scans, faded text, and illegible handwriting force translators to guess, and those guesses show up as discrepancies that officers catch.

A Request for Evidence is not a denial, but the delay is real. Verify every element of the certification statement against the regulatory requirements before you file.

If You Are Using the Document Abroad

Domestic certified translation is not the same process as authenticating a U.S. document for use in another country. Countries that belong to the Hague Apostille Convention accept a standardized authentication certificate called an apostille in place of full consular legalization. The U.S. Department of State issues apostilles for federal documents, and individual state secretaries of state handle documents issued at the state level.⁵

Order matters. The apostille goes on the original document, not on the translation. Get the apostille first, then have the apostilled document translated if the receiving country requires an English document to be translated.⁵ Some receiving countries require the translation to be done by a “sworn translator” officially recognized in that country, so confirm the destination country’s rules before hiring a translator in the U.S. Countries outside the Hague Convention generally require full consular legalization instead, which involves both the U.S. State Department and the destination country’s embassy or consulate.

1
eCFR. 8 CFR 103.2 – Submission and Adjudication of Benefit Requests
2
U.S. Department of State. Guidance on Becoming a Professional Translator
3
USCIS. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1, Part E, Chapter 6 – Evidence
4
U.S. Department of State. Information About Translating Foreign Documents
5
U.S. Department of State. Preparing a Document for an Apostille Certificate