Hi,
Has anyone ever had any official document such as a marriage certificate translated from English into a foreign language by a sworn-in certified translation service in the U.S?
If so, what service did you use and how much should I expect to pay?
Thanks.

I did the opposite, from Russian into English. The translation itself is cheap, it's the certification that costs an arm and a leg.

I live in San Francisco, so just opened the Yellow Pages for translation services, called them to make sure they have the certification rights.

My son's birth certificate was around $100 in 1998.

But this all depends what you need this for. For example, my uncle needed the same translated for pension, so at the SSI office they just took a copy for their in-house free translation. I know that as I was his interpreter.

Thanks!
The least expensive quote I received is $155 for a certified translation, including a notary public.
I guess that stuff is expensive.
Yes, unfortunately, it has to be done by a certified translator. Otherwise, I would have done it myself.
Thank you again!

Yeah, I was in the same position - easily could've done the translation myself... shop around for a notary public, maybe they can certify your translation? I don't know.

Hi Caroline, my SIL who was born and raised in Rome had to have a document (probably his Italian birth certificate) translated into English about 8 years ago. At that time I think he paid about $100.00 or so to a certified translator so the quote you got sounds correct.

Thank you both

That's one of those things Americans don't consider when they plan a wedding in a foreign country...another thing to consider is that getting a replacement certificate if you lose the original will be VERY difficult...

Any immigration attorney's office will either have a translator on staff, if it's a common language like Spanish, or will be able to recommend one for a less-common language, like Bosnian.

not sure to which language you want to translate into but most will accept a notary public confirming any translator other then you signing under translated document - also if it's to ie. Polish - then Polish Konsulate will verify any translation for you and stemp it with their official stemps - which I think costs half or even less of what you got a quote for... Another probably cheapest solution is to get a certify translator in a specific country (where things can be scanned emailed etc.) if can't do personally ;-) hope this helps.

There is a big difference between a certified translation and just any translation. I have arranged for certified translations of contracts on several occasions which needed to be submitted for government registration in China, Russia and Brazil. It is not hard to do, but it is not cheap. A certified translation is done by a translator who has been certified, by the country to which you are submitting the document, that the translator has adequate training and can make an adequate translation from English into the language of that country.

If you really need a translation (and you ma not, see below) would suggest that you contact the embassy or consulate of the country to which you will be submitting the translated document and see if they maintain a list of certified translators (sometimes called "official" translators or "registered" translators), these would be the ones that are acceptable to them. This is better than paying for a translation which is ultimately not acceptable and then you have to pay for another translation. A marriage certificate is a brief document so it should not be that bad in terms of cost, but certified translations are not cheap because ultimately the translator is taking responsibility for mistakes in translating the document.

Now, very often for something like a birth certificate or a marriage certificate or another document in English which has been issued by a state or federal government agency, another country will accept a document which has been "authenticated" by its embassy or consulate in the US. This involves presenting the original document to the embassy or consulate, they will review it in English, and they will stamp it with their stamp, called an apostille. You will pay a small fee for this. No translation is necessary. You can then use this original authenticated/apostilled English version for whatever purpose you need. You may also be able to have a certified copy of your marriage certificate issued by the state in which you were married, and get that certified copy authenticated. (As the certified copy is issued by a government agency, the consulate should accept it. ) You might want to make sure if you can simply get the document authenticated rather than having to do a certified translation.

There is an international treaty called the Hague Convention which most countries who belong to the UN are a party to. This makes acceptance of government-issued documents in native languages much easier between countries. See http://travel.state.gov/family/abduc...ssues_562.html

A notary public's stamp is not the same as a certified translation. You would have to confirm with the country to which you are submitting the translation that a statement signed by the translator and notarized by a notary would be acceptable as a certified translation.

Cicerone: all good point - still would at least check with local consulate of specific country if they could validate translation - I have done this successfully with Polish Consulate in US where I have translated the documents myself and with originals in english asked then to validate those translation ... those were legal documents and certified translation was required - and THIS was more then acceptable - and in some places even better since it was done by a government official who can be easly verified. Anyway just ideas to check into - and shop around

Thank you all!