Chinese to English
Certified Police Clearance Translation, Chinese to English
A certified Chinese to English translation of a police clearance certificate costs $24.95 per page of the source document, whatever the number of characters on it. A typical police clearance 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
Almost always a single certificate page of up to 250 words; occasionally 2 when an apostille or an annex with record details is attached. 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 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 police clearance certificate translation
- For consular processing, documents not written in English or in the official language of the country where the applicant is applying must be accompanied by certified translations that include a signed statement from the translator attesting that the translation is accurate and the translator is competent to translate.
- Any foreign-language police certificate filed with USCIS must carry a full English translation certified as complete and accurate by a translator who certifies competence in the language pair (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)).
- The full certificate is translated word for word, including the issuing authority header, the no-record or record-found wording, reference and file numbers, the validity statement if present, and the date and place of issue.
- All seals, stamps, and official signatures on the certificate, including any apostille attached to it, are translated or described in square brackets so the English version accounts for everything visible on the source.
- The applicant's name, date of birth, and any identity numbers must be reproduced exactly as they appear, with transliteration kept consistent with the passport spelling wherever the source allows, because consular officers match the certificate against the passport.
- Illegible portions, such as a smudged registry stamp, are marked [illegible] in the translation rather than omitted or reconstructed.
- The State Department's country reciprocity schedule specifies for each country which authority issues an acceptable police certificate and how to request it, so the certificate must come from the authority listed there.
Common reasons translations get rejected
- The certificate is expired. Police certificates are considered valid for two years, unless the certificate was issued by a country of previous residence and the applicant has not returned there since it was issued.
- Missing certificates for a country that meets the residence thresholds, such as a country of nationality or current residence with 6 or more months of residence, or another country with 12 or more months, which stalls the case at NVC or the interview.
- Submitting US police records unnecessarily. The State Department instructs present and former US residents not to obtain police certificates covering their residence in the United States.
- The certificate comes from the wrong issuing authority for that country. Consulates check it against the authority named in the reciprocity schedule, and a local station letter where a national-level certificate is required does not qualify.
- The translation omits reference numbers, seals, the apostille, or the exact no-record wording, leaving a completeness gap between the source and the English version.
Good to know
About Chinese-language police clearance certificates
In mainland China, a certificate of no criminal record (无犯罪记录证明, wu fanzui jilu zhengming) or criminal record query result comes from the public security organs, usually the police station where the person's household is registered or where they live. For use abroad it is commonly turned into a notarial certificate, since the Notarization Law lists whether a person has a criminal record among the matters a notary office certifies. A qualified translator translates both the police document and the notary's certificate, with all seals.
Taiwan's Police Criminal Record Certificate (警察刑事紀錄證明書) is issued by municipal and county police bureaus under the Act Governing Issuance of Police Criminal Record Certificates. It must state explicitly whether a criminal record exists, but certain records are left out, including unrevoked suspended sentences, short-term detention or fines, and exemptions from punishment. An English-language certificate can be requested, and the English name on it must match the passport. A Chinese-language certificate needs a full translation.
Hong Kong's Certificate of No Criminal Conviction (CNCC) is issued by the Hong Kong Police Force only in connection with a visa application or the adoption of children, and the police do not process requests for other purposes. Applicants follow the requesting authority's instructions on how the certificate is obtained and delivered.
In mainland China, documents for use abroad are usually produced as notarial certificates (公证书, gongzhengshu) by notary public offices (公证处, gongzhengchu), which the justice administration authorities supervise. Civil affairs bureaus (民政局, minzhengju) register marriages and divorces and issue the marriage and divorce certificates. Hospitals and other licensed birth facilities issue the Medical Certificate of Birth (出生医学证明, chusheng yixue zhengming). Public security organs (公安机关, gong'an jiguan) keep the household register (户口, hukou), issue resident identity cards and answer criminal record queries through local police stations (派出所, paichusuo). In Taiwan, household registration offices (戶政事務所, huzheng shiwusuo) under the Ministry of the Interior record births, marriages, divorces and deaths and issue household registration transcripts (戶籍謄本, huji tengben). In Hong Kong, the Immigration Department's registries issue certified copies of birth, death and marriage entries.
Documents from mainland China arrive in a few recurring formats. Booklets come from the agency that keeps the record, such as the household register booklet (户口簿, hukoubu, also called 户口本, hukouben), the marriage certificate (结婚证, jiehunzheng) and the divorce certificate (离婚证, lihunzheng). Single-sheet certificates include the hospital-issued Medical Certificate of Birth and the Medical Certificate of Death (居民死亡医学证明, jumin siwang yixue zhengming). Notarial certificates (公证书) are bound booklets from a notary public office that pair a photocopy of the underlying record, or a statement of the certified fact, with the notary's certificate and often an English translation. Court judgments (判决书, panjueshu) and mediation statements (调解书, tiaojieshu), university certificates and transcripts, and online verification reports from CHSI (学信网, Xuexin Wang) are also common, and many agencies now issue electronic certificates (电子证照, dianzi zhengzhao) that carry a QR or verification code.
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
- How fast can I get the certified translation, and what comes with it?
- Certified delivery is 2 to 3 business days. The translation is reviewed and approved by a qualified professional translator and delivered with a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy carrying the translator's name and signature, plus a QR verification page the receiving officer can use to confirm the certificate.
- My police certificate is in Spanish and my interview is in Mexico. Do I need a translation at all?
- For the consular stage, the State Department requires certified translations only for documents not written in English or in the official language of the country where you are applying, so a Spanish certificate used at a consulate in Mexico may not need one. Any filing with USCIS inside the United States always requires a full certified English translation, and many applicants translate the certificate anyway so one set of documents works everywhere.
- How long is my police certificate valid?
- Police certificates are treated as valid for two years. The exception is a certificate from a country of previous residence, which stays acceptable if you have not returned to that country since it was issued. Check the date before ordering the translation so you do not translate a certificate that will be expired at your interview.
- Which countries do I need police certificates from?
- If you are 16 or older, you need one from your country of nationality if you lived there at least 6 months, from your current country of residence if you lived there at least 6 months, and from any other country where you lived 12 months or more. Consular officers also require one from any country where you were arrested, regardless of how long you lived there. You should not obtain US police records for time lived in the United States.
- My police clearance certificate was issued in China. What should I know before ordering?
- In mainland China, a certificate of no criminal record (无犯罪记录证明, wu fanzui jilu zhengming) or criminal record query result comes from the public security organs, usually the police station where the person's household is registered or where they live. For use abroad it is commonly turned into a notarial certificate, since the Notarization Law lists whether a person has a criminal record among the matters a notary office certifies. A qualified translator translates both the police document and the notary's certificate, with all seals.
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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