Texas
Certified Translation Services in Texas
Certified translation for Texas costs $24.95 per page, where one page is up to 250 words of the source document, delivered in 2 to 3 business days as a PDF with a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy from the qualified professional translator who completed or reviewed the work. The entire service is online. Upload your document, see the exact price before paying, and order from anywhere in Texas with no appointment and nothing to mail. Translations are prepared for official use, including USCIS filings, courts, universities, and licensing boards.
Pricing
Exact prices, shown before you pay
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.
Filing locally
Where Texas filings are handled
Your certified translation is delivered as a PDF you file yourself, so it works with every office below. Nothing needs to be picked up and there is no local counter to visit, because the whole service is online.
USCIS field offices
- Dallas Field Office, Dallas. Serves the Dallas and Fort Worth area. USCIS field offices are appointment only.
- El Paso Field Office, El Paso
- Harlingen Field Office, Harlingen. Serves the Rio Grande Valley.
- Houston Field Office, Houston
- San Antonio Field Office, San Antonio
Immigration courts
- Conroe Immigration Court, Conroe
- Dallas Immigration Court, Dallas
- El Paso Immigration Court, El Paso
- El Paso SPC Immigration Court, El Paso. Located at the El Paso Service Processing Center on Montana Avenue and hears detained cases.
- Fort Worth Immigration Adjudication Center, Fort Worth. EOIR lists this as Fort Worth IAC. It is an adjudication center where judges hear cases remotely, not a public walk-in court.
- Harlingen Immigration Court, Harlingen
- Houston - Jefferson Street Immigration Court, Houston
- Houston - Greenspoint Park Immigration Court, Houston
- Houston - S. Gessner Road Immigration Court, Houston
- Laredo Immigration Court, Laredo
- Pearsall Immigration Court, Pearsall. Sits at the South Texas ICE Processing Center and hears detained cases.
- Port Isabel Immigration Court, Los Fresnos. Sits at the Port Isabel Service Processing Center and hears detained cases.
- San Antonio Immigration Court, San Antonio
State rules
Apostilles and notarization in Texas
The Office of the Texas Secretary of State is the only agency in Texas that can issue certificates and apostilles authenticating Texas public records for use outside the United States. Requests are handled by its Authentications Unit.
Texas issues a single universal Apostille certificate that acts as both an apostille for Apostille Convention countries and an authentication for non-member countries. For non-member countries the document also needs further authentication from the Office of Authentications at the U.S. Department of State.
The fee is 15 dollars per universal Apostille. For international adoption proceedings the fee is 10 dollars per document, with total fees capped at 100 dollars per child.
Recordable documents such as birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, and judgments must be certified copies issued by state or county officials, must be less than five years old, and cannot be notarized copies made by a notary public.
Notarization is a prerequisite for private, non-recordable documents. They must include a typed or written statement from the issuer or signer, and the signature must be properly notarized with a complete notarial certificate before the Secretary of State will apostille them.
To apostille a translation, Texas requires a typed or written statement from the translator about the translation, signed and properly notarized, and the notarized translation must be submitted together with a copy or the original of the source document.
The Texas Secretary of State does not apostille federal documents such as FBI background checks or Certificates of Naturalization, and does not apostille records issued by other states or countries. Federal documents go to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications.
In-person services for the Office of the Texas Secretary of State are located at 400 W. 15th Street in Austin. Mailed requests are paid by check or money order payable to the Secretary of State of Texas, and walk-in requests can also pay exact cash.
The Texas Secretary of State apostille FAQ states that if a document needs to be translated, a notary must witness the translator signing the translation, and the source document must be submitted with the notarized translation for authentication. So for apostille purposes in Texas, a translation must be notarized.
USCIS itself does not require notarized translations. Federal regulation requires a full English translation with the translator's certification of completeness, accuracy, and competence. Notarization only becomes relevant when a Texas office such as the Secretary of State, or a specific receiving office, asks for it.
Texas rejects apostille submissions containing the term Notario Publico or statements by a notary acting beyond their authority. Texas notaries may only witness signatures, administer oaths, take depositions, make certified copies of non-recordable documents, and protest instruments. They cannot verify a signer's legal capacity or draft documents.
Texas accepts online remote notarization (RON) documents for apostille if presented with a notarization ledger and a notarial certificate stating the document was notarized by two-way audio and visual communication, but some destination countries do not accept RON notarizations, so the receiving office should be consulted.
Documents
What Texas customers translate most
Germans were the largest ethnic group in Texas derived directly from Europe. German immigration began in the 1830s, and settlers clustered in a German Belt across south central Texas stretching from Galveston and Houston west to Kerrville, Mason, and Hondo in the Hill Country. In the 1990 census about 17.5 percent of Texans claimed full or partial German ancestry.
Hill Country towns such as New Braunfels and Fredericksburg were founded by German settlers in the 1840s, and the Texas German dialect survives among descendants and is actively documented by researchers.
Roughly 7 million Texans age 5 and over speak Spanish at home, the second largest Spanish-speaking population of any state after California, according to American Community Survey data.
About 35 percent of Texans age 5 and over speak a language other than English at home, and Spanish accounts for the large majority of that group.
Hispanic Texans became the state's largest population group in 2022 Census Bureau estimates, at roughly 40 percent of the state population.
Border cities such as El Paso, Laredo, McAllen, and Brownsville have some of the highest shares of Spanish spoken at home in the country, with Laredo regularly reported above 90 percent in American Community Survey data.
Education and licensing
Universities and licensing boards
Universities receiving international documents
- The University of Texas at Austin, Austin. Flagship of the University of Texas System.
- Texas A&M University, College Station. Flagship of the Texas A&M University System and one of the largest universities in the country by enrollment.
- University of Houston, Houston. Flagship of the University of Houston System.
- Texas Tech University, Lubbock
- University of North Texas, Denton
- Texas State University, San Marcos
- The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson
- The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington
Professional licensing
The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council, which licenses professional counselors, requires applicants with foreign degrees to submit official transcripts with a certified English translation prepared by the issuing institution, a translator certified by the American Translators Association, or a reputable foreign translator or translation service, sent directly to the board.
The Texas Board of Law Examiners requires Foreign Legal Consultant applicants to submit an English translation of any required document that is not written in English.
The Texas Medical Board licenses international medical school graduates, who document their medical education as part of licensure, including ECFMG certification. Check the board's current application checklist for its document and translation rules.
The Texas Board of Nursing requires internationally educated nurses to have their education credentials evaluated by an approved credentials evaluation service such as CGFNS before licensure by examination or endorsement.
The Texas Education Agency reviews out-of-country credentials for teacher certification through approved foreign credential evaluation services, which work from academic records in English.
How it works
Order online from anywhere in Texas
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.
$24.95 per page, certified, delivered in 2 to 3 business days.
Questions
Texas questions
- Who issues apostilles in Texas?
- The Office of the Texas Secretary of State is the only agency in the state that can issue apostilles and authentication certificates for Texas public records used outside the United States. It issues a single universal Apostille that works for both Apostille Convention and non-member countries, for a fee of 15 dollars per document. In-person service is at 400 W. 15th Street in Austin, and mailed requests are also accepted. Federal documents such as FBI background checks are handled by the U.S. Department of State instead.
- Does USCIS require certified translations for filings from Texas?
- Yes. Whether you file from Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, or the Rio Grande Valley, USCIS applies the same federal rule everywhere. Any document in a language other than English must be filed with a complete English translation, and the translator must certify that the translation is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate. Every certified translation we deliver includes a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy from a qualified professional translator that follows this format.
- Do I need to notarize my certified translation in Texas?
- It depends on where the translation is going. USCIS requires certification, not notarization. The Texas Secretary of State is different. If you want an apostille on a translation, the translator's signed statement must be notarized, and the translation must be submitted together with the source document. Some courts and agencies set their own rules, so confirm with the office that will receive your documents before ordering notarization.
- How do I get a Texas birth certificate apostilled for use abroad, and what about the translation?
- Order a certified copy of the birth certificate from Texas vital records officials. The Texas Secretary of State only apostilles certified copies issued by state or county officials that are less than five years old, and it will not accept a notarized photocopy. If the destination country needs the record in another language, the translation must carry the translator's notarized statement and be submitted with the source document. Confirm the receiving country's exact requirements before you order.
- Which immigration court will hear my case in Texas?
- EOIR operates immigration courts across Texas, including Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Harlingen, Laredo, and Conroe. Your hearing notice states your assigned court, so always follow the notice. Immigration courts expect documents in other languages to be filed with an English translation and a certificate of translation, which is what a certified translation provides.
- Which USCIS field office serves my part of Texas?
- Texas has five USCIS field offices, in Dallas, El Paso, Harlingen, Houston, and San Antonio. Your interview or appointment notice names the office assigned to your case, and USCIS field offices do not allow walk-ins, so you must have an appointment. Bring your original documents along with the certified English translations that were filed with your application.
- Will Texas licensing boards accept your certified translations?
- Texas boards publish their own document rules, and several accept certified English translations from a professional translation service. For example, the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council accepts transcript translations from the issuing institution, a translator certified by the American Translators Association, or a reputable translation service, and the Texas Board of Law Examiners requires an English translation of any required document not written in English. Check your board's current application checklist, and confirm whether translations must be sent directly to the board.
- I have a Spanish-language birth certificate from Mexico. Can I use it for a Texas filing?
- For USCIS and Texas immigration courts, you file the foreign-language record with a complete certified English translation. Texas has one of the largest Spanish-speaking communities in the country, and Spanish to English is the most common certified translation request in the state. Note that the Texas Secretary of State cannot apostille a record issued by another country, so if the Mexican record itself needs authentication, that comes from the issuing country. Confirm requirements with the office receiving your documents.
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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