French to English
Certified Marriage Certificate Translation, French to English
A certified French to English translation of a marriage certificate costs $24.95 per page, where one page is up to 250 words of the source document. A typical marriage 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.
Pricing
Exact prices, shown before you pay
Most marriage certificates are one page of up to 250 source words; civil registry acts with witness details, marginal annotations, or legalization stamps 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 marriage certificate translation
- Any foreign language marriage 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 documents not in English or in the official language of the country of application, including a statement signed by the translator that the translator is competent to translate, uploaded together with the original document in one file.
- The translation must be complete and word for word, covering the spouses' names, the date and place of marriage, the registering authority, registration numbers, officiant and registrar signature blocks, seals, stamps, and any marginal annotations, which in many countries are where divorces, name changes, and corrections are recorded on the marriage record.
- Where the country of marriage requires civil registration, US immigration authorities expect the civil marriage record, not only a religious ceremony certificate. The translation must be of whichever document the process actually requires.
- Seals, stamps, and signatures are described in brackets in the translation, and illegible portions are marked [illegible] rather than reconstructed.
- Both spouses' names must be transliterated consistently and should match their passports, birth certificates, and prior filings. Maiden and married name forms are rendered exactly as they appear on the record.
- USCIS requires certification of the translation, not notarization.
Common reasons translations get rejected
- Marginal annotations on the marriage record are left untranslated. In many civil law countries divorces and corrections are annotated in the margin of the original act, so an untranslated margin can hide legally decisive information and undermines the claim that the translation is complete.
- Only a religious ceremony certificate is submitted and translated when the country of marriage requires civil registration, leading to a request for the civil record.
- Prior marriage termination documents are missing or untranslated, so the file cannot establish that the current marriage is legally valid.
- Spouses' names in the translation do not match their passports or birth certificates because of inconsistent transliteration, creating identity discrepancies across the file.
- A partial or summary translation is submitted instead of the full word for word rendering the regulation requires.
Good to know
About French-language marriage certificates
France: the acte de mariage is issued by the mairie of the commune where the marriage took place, in the same copie intégrale and extrait forms as birth records. The livret de famille (family record book) is a separate booklet handed to the couple; US filers often hold it, but the individual acte de mariage is the primary record.
A French contrat de mariage is a notarial prenuptial agreement, a different document from the acte de mariage; the acte de mariage notes whether such a contract exists.
Quebec: the acte de mariage and certificat de mariage are issued only by the Directeur de l'état civil, in French.
US federal rule for translations: 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) states that 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.
France keeps civil status records ('état civil') locally. The mairie of the commune where the event occurred issues certified copies, and the Service central d'état civil (SCEC) in Nantes issues records for events involving French citizens that occurred abroad.
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.
Questions
Common questions
- We married in a religious ceremony abroad. Is a translation of the church certificate enough?
- Usually not on its own. Where the country requires civil registration of marriages, USCIS and consular posts expect the civil registry record, and a translation cannot substitute for the correct underlying document. Confirm which record your process requires, then have that document translated.
- Does the certified translation need to be notarized for USCIS?
- No. USCIS requires the translator's signed certification that the translation is complete and accurate and that the translator is competent, not a notarization.
- There are handwritten notes in the margin of our marriage certificate. Do those get translated?
- Yes, and they matter. In many countries divorces, name changes, and corrections are recorded as marginal annotations on the marriage act, so a complete translation must include them. Anything unreadable is marked [illegible] rather than guessed.
- Can my spouse translate our marriage certificate for the petition?
- The regulation does not prohibit it, but a translation certified by one of the spouses is a translation certified by an interested party, and adjudicators can question it. A qualified professional translator's certification removes that doubt.
- My marriage certificate was issued in France. What should I know before ordering?
- France: the acte de mariage is issued by the mairie of the commune where the marriage took place, in the same copie intégrale and extrait forms as birth records. The livret de famille (family record book) is a separate booklet handed to the couple; US filers often hold it, but the individual acte de mariage is the primary record.
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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