Can I use a translated burial permit or funeral home document instead of the death certificate?

Usually not. Immigration authorities and most US institutions expect the death certificate issued by the country's civil registration authority. Translating a substitute document does not make it the required record, so confirm what your process accepts before ordering.

I need the translation for a probate case in a US court. Is a certified translation enough?

Certified translation is the standard starting point, and many courts accept a translation with a signed translator certification. Some courts have additional formal requirements set by state law or local rule, so check the rules of the specific court handling the estate.

Do I send the original death certificate with the translation?

For USCIS you generally submit a clear photocopy of the certificate with the certified translation, and originals only if requested. For NVC, the scan of the foreign language certificate and the English translation are uploaded together in a single file, original first.

The name on the death certificate is spelled differently from the name on our marriage certificate. Will that cause a problem?

It can, because the reviewer must be able to connect the death to the right person. The translator keeps transliteration consistent across your documents where the source script allows, but cannot change what a record says; genuine discrepancies in the records themselves are addressed with supporting evidence or a correction from the issuing registry.

Portuguese to English

Certified Death Certificate Translation, Portuguese to English

A certified Portuguese to English translation of a death certificate costs $24.95 per page, where one page is up to 250 words of the source document. A typical death certificate runs 1 to 2 pages, so most orders come to $24.95 to $49.90. Certified orders are delivered in 2 to 3 business days as a PDF containing the complete translation and a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy from the qualified professional translator who completed or reviewed the work, prepared for official use including USCIS filings.

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Pricing

Exact prices, shown before you pay

Most death certificates are one page of up to 250 source words; certificates with a detailed medical cause of death section or attached registry transcriptions can reach two. Certified translation is $24.95 per page, so a typical order of 1 to 2 pages comes to $24.95 to $49.90. The exact total is measured from your real document and shown before payment.

Standard

$19.95 per page

3 to 5 business days

A professional translation with digital delivery.

Certified

$24.95 per page

2 to 3 business days

A certified translation accepted for official use.

Premium

$39.95 per page

1 to 2 business days

A certified translation, translated first.

One page is up to 250 words.

Requirements

What reviewers require for a certified death certificate translation

A foreign language death certificate submitted to USCIS must be accompanied by a full English language translation certified by the translator as complete and accurate, with the translator's certification of competence to translate from that language into English (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)).
For immigrant visa processing, the Department of State requires certified translations of civil documents, including death certificates, that are not in English or in the official language of the country of application, with a signed translator statement of competence.
The translation must be complete and word for word, covering the decedent's name, the date and place of death, the registering authority and registration data, informant details, seals, stamps, signature blocks, and any medical cause of death section if the certificate contains one.
The decedent's name must be transliterated consistently and should match the name as it appears in the related file, for example the prior marriage certificate in an immigration case or the estate documents in a probate matter.
Older or handwritten death registers frequently contain hard to read script. Illegible portions are marked [illegible] in the translation; a qualified professional translator does not reconstruct unreadable names, dates, or causes of death.
Seals, stamps, and signatures on the certificate are described in brackets in the translation so every element of the original is accounted for.
USCIS requires certification of the translation, not notarization. Courts, insurers, and other recipients set their own formal requirements, which can differ.

Common reasons translations get rejected

Only the main data fields are translated and the medical section, stamps, or registry annotations are skipped, so the translation is not the full rendering the regulation requires.
Illegible handwriting in older death registers is guessed at instead of being marked [illegible], producing a name or date that conflicts with other documents in the file.
The decedent's name in the translation does not match the name on the related marriage certificate or estate papers because of inconsistent transliteration, so the reviewer cannot connect the death to the person in question.
A burial permit, funeral home document, or medical certificate of death is translated and submitted in place of the civil registry death certificate that the process actually requires.
In immigration cases, the death certificate proving a prior marriage ended is missing or untranslated, which blocks a finding that the current marriage is valid and triggers an RFE.

Good to know

About Portuguese-language death certificates

Brazil: Certidão de Óbito, issued by the cartório on the standardized national model. It is distinct from the Declaração de Óbito, the medical death declaration form completed by a physician; the registry certidão is the document US agencies use.

Portugal: Certidão do Assento de Óbito, issued by the Conservatória do Registo Civil under the IRN.

Brazil, Portugal, Cape Verde (Cabo Verde), and São Tomé and Príncipe are contracting parties to the Hague Apostille Convention. Entry into force dates: Portugal February 4, 1969; São Tomé and Príncipe September 13, 2008; Cabo Verde February 13, 2010; Brazil August 14, 2016.

Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and Timor-Leste are not parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, so their public documents are authenticated for US use through consular legalization rather than an apostille.

How it works

From upload to certified delivery

Step 1

Upload and get an instant quote

Send us your document, choose your languages, and see your price right away.

Step 2

A professional translator translates it

A qualified professional translator translates your document.

Step 3

Reviewed for accuracy and certified

Your translation is reviewed for accuracy and certified with a signed certificate of accuracy.

Step 4

Receive your certified translation

You receive your certified translation, ready for official use.

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Questions

Common questions

Can I use a translated burial permit or funeral home document instead of the death certificate?: Usually not. Immigration authorities and most US institutions expect the death certificate issued by the country's civil registration authority. Translating a substitute document does not make it the required record, so confirm what your process accepts before ordering.
I need the translation for a probate case in a US court. Is a certified translation enough?: Certified translation is the standard starting point, and many courts accept a translation with a signed translator certification. Some courts have additional formal requirements set by state law or local rule, so check the rules of the specific court handling the estate.
Do I send the original death certificate with the translation?: For USCIS you generally submit a clear photocopy of the certificate with the certified translation, and originals only if requested. For NVC, the scan of the foreign language certificate and the English translation are uploaded together in a single file, original first.
The name on the death certificate is spelled differently from the name on our marriage certificate. Will that cause a problem?: It can, because the reviewer must be able to connect the death to the right person. The translator keeps transliteration consistent across your documents where the source script allows, but cannot change what a record says; genuine discrepancies in the records themselves are addressed with supporting evidence or a correction from the issuing registry.
My death certificate was issued in Brazil. What should I know before ordering?: Brazil: Certidão de Óbito, issued by the cartório on the standardized national model. It is distinct from the Declaração de Óbito, the medical death declaration form completed by a physician; the registry certidão is the document US agencies use.

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A translation error is ours to fix

If your certified translation is rejected because of a translation error we made, we correct it at no charge, and if the corrected translation is rejected again for that same error we refund what you paid for it. Our Refund Policy sets out the conditions and what it does not cover. Your documents are encrypted and kept confidential from start to finish.

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