Written November 5, 2026 · David Mendez, Michigan Notary Public & Spanish–English translator · Grand Haven
Every few weeks somebody asks me for a notarized translation of a birth certificate.
The whole rule is one sentence
It lives at 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), under the heading Translations.
"Any document containing foreign language submitted to USCIS shall be accompanied by a full English language translation which the translator has certified as complete and accurate, and by the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate from the foreign language into English."
It asks for three things, and that's the entire requirement.
So why doesn't a notary stamp help?
Because of what the stamp actually means.
A notarized translation proves the translator is a real person with ID.
A notarized translation isn't wrong. It's just extra.
There's no such thing as a USCIS-certified translator
The United States government does not license or certify translators.
The word certified describes the document, not the person.
There are real credentials in this field, but USCIS does not require them.
Can you just translate it yourself?
The rule does not prohibit it. It never names who the translator can be.
Here's why I still wouldn't do it.
Not illegal, not forbidden, just a bad bet on a file you've waited a long time for.
"Full" is the word that gets people
It says a full English language translation. That one word is doing more work than everything else.
Full means everything on that document. Not the useful parts. Everything.
- The seal, and the words inside the seal.
- The registrar's stamp in the corner.
- Handwritten notes in the margin.
- The pre-printed legal notice on the back that nobody reads.
- Tax or fee stamps, serial numbers, form numbers.
When something truly can't be read, the translation says so in brackets.
Somebody typing up just the names and the dates is the version I see most often.
Already paid somebody for one?
Send me the translation with photos of the original, front and back. I'll tell you what's missing, free.
What a finished one looks like
What I hand back is two pages in a single PDF.
- Page one is the translation, laid out to follow the original.
- Page two is the Certificate of Accuracy.
One certificate covers one document.
Keep your original somewhere safe, and keep the signed PDF too.
When it really does need my stamp
It depends entirely on who's receiving the document.
Documents going out of the United States to a foreign government are a different story.
Ask the office that's going to receive it, before you pay anybody.
What to send me, and what it costs
Phone photos are fine — I don't need a scanner.
$25 for a one-page document and $15 for each additional page.
This is all done by email, which means where I'm standing doesn't matter.
What I can't help with
I translate documents and I notarize signatures. I'm not an attorney.
What I will tell you is whether your translation is complete.
Take the picture now, both sides, while the document is still in front of you.
Need a document translated this week?
Certified Spanish–English translations, handled entirely by email.