Birth Certificate Translation for USCIS and Use Abroad

The short answer

A birth certificate translation must be a complete, word-for-word translation of the entire document, including stamps, seals, signatures, handwritten notes and marginal annotations, with a signed certificate of accuracy. For U.S. immigration, a certified translation is required; notarization is not. For use abroad, the U.S. birth certificate usually needs an apostille first, and the destination country decides whether it accepts a U.S. translation, a notarized translation or only a sworn translation made in that country.

Translating a foreign birth certificate for U.S. use

• Submit a copy of the foreign birth certificate with a complete English translation.
• The translation must include everything on the document, including stamps and annotations.
• Names, dates and places should match the original exactly; the translator should not "correct" spellings.
• The translator signs a certificate of competence and accuracy, as required under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3).
• Long-form birth certificates showing parents' names are often required; ask the receiving office.

See Certified Translation for USCIS and Using Foreign Documents in the U.S..

Translating a U.S. birth certificate for use abroad

1. Order a recently issued certified copy of the birth certificate. See Vital Records Retrieval.
2. Have it apostilled by the state that issued it. See How to Apostille a Massachusetts Birth Certificate.
3. Translate the birth certificate and the apostille together.
4. Notarize and apostille the translation, or use a sworn translator abroad, if the receiving office requires it. See Translate Before or After the Apostille?.

Details translators must handle carefully

Common reasons translations are rejected

• Stamps, seals or annotations were left out.
• The translation summarized the document instead of translating it word for word.
• The certificate of accuracy was missing or unsigned.
• The applicant translated their own birth certificate.
• Names were spelled differently from the original or from other documents in the file.

Birth certificates we translate most often

We translate birth certificates from Brazil, Portugal, Cape Verde, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, El Salvador, Colombia, Mexico, China, Vietnam, India, Ukraine, Russia, Ethiopia and many more countries, and English birth certificates into Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French and other languages for use abroad. See our Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian Creole translation pages.

Short-form and long-form certificates

Many countries issue both an abbreviated birth certificate and a full or long-form record that lists parents and later annotations. U.S. immigration and many foreign offices prefer the long form. If you have only a short form, ask the receiving office whether it is acceptable before translating, so you do not pay to translate the wrong document.

Massachusetts birth certificates going abroad

For Massachusetts birth certificates, order a certified copy from the city or town clerk where the birth was recorded, or from the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, and have it apostilled by the Secretary of the Commonwealth before translation. We order Massachusetts records directly. See Birth Certificate Apostille.

Birth certificates with amendments

Many birth certificates carry later annotations recording a legitimation, adoption, name change, correction or the parents' marriage. These entries are often handwritten or stamped in the margin, and they frequently matter more to the receiving office than the original entry. A complete translation includes every annotation, in order, with a note identifying where it appears on the document.