PayPal: Verifying Your Account With Documents in Another Language

Worth knowing about PayPal

PayPal requirements in detail

What PayPal Australia asks for

PayPal first tries to confirm your name, address and date of birth against national databases, and asks for documents only when that fails (PayPal Australia: How do I confirm my identity? (CIP)).

In Australia it then accepts a passport, a foreign national ID card, an Australian or foreign driver's licence or an Australian proof of age card, and it adds one condition for documents not in English: an English translation prepared by an accredited translator must go with the document (PayPal Australia: How do I confirm my identity? (CIP)).

PayPal does not say which accreditation it means, so we do not claim one on its behalf.

An eVerbary translation is a certified translation: a complete English rendering of the document with a signed certificate of translation accuracy.

If PayPal's request to you names a specific accreditation, check that requirement before you order, and write it in the quote notes so we can confirm what we can provide before you pay.

Outside Australia

We read the same PayPal help article for the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany (PayPal US: How do I confirm my identity? (CIP)) and PayPal's UK article on business-entity documents (PayPal UK: What documents can I upload to confirm my business entity?).

None of them says anything about documents in other languages. That does not mean a translation is never needed: it means PayPal has not published a rule there, and the request in your account is the place to look.

If PayPal asks you for a translation outside Australia, follow the wording of that request.

Note what it asks for, a certified or a notarized translation, or a translation by a particular kind of translator, and choose the matching option when you order. Notarization is available at checkout for $34.90 per order.

Documents people usually translate

• Passport, where the details are not printed in English
• National identity card issued by a foreign government
• Foreign driver's licence, front and back
• Proof of address such as a bank statement or utility bill, if PayPal asks for one
• Name change documents, if your ID and your account show different names

What an eVerbary translation includes

• A complete English translation of every page, stamps, seals and handwritten notes included, laid out like the original so each line can be matched.
• A signed certificate of translation accuracy on letterhead, with our contact details, delivered as a PDF you can upload or print.
• $24.95 per page with no word cap, certification included; 24 hours for one to three pages as standard. Regular clients who need it can get delivery in as little as 30 minutes, on request.
• Notarization added at checkout ($34.90 per order) when the office asks for a notarized translation.

Submitting the translation to PayPal

• Upload the document and its translation in your PayPal account, on the Confirm your identity page or from the bell icon at the top of the page, using a web browser (PayPal Australia: How do I confirm my identity? (CIP)).

• Show both sides of an ID card and all four corners of each page, and upload them separately for each PayPal account you hold (PayPal Australia: How do I confirm my identity? (CIP)).

• The translation renders your name as the document prints it. If the name on your PayPal account follows your passport spelling, tell us in the order notes and we use that spelling.

How to order

1. Scan or photograph every page of the document, front and back, including any stamps on the reverse.
2. Upload it, choose the language and "certified", and see the price before paying.
3. Receive the PDF, usually within 24 hours for one to three pages, and submit it with the copy of the original wherever the office asks for it.

Frequently asked questions