Home / Driver’s License Translation

Certified Driver’s License Translation

Get your driver’s license translated into English by a professional human translator, with a signed certification accepted by USCIS, courts and universities. Flat $24.95 per page and a 100% USCIS acceptance guarantee.

A small document with nothing on it that can be skipped

A licence is a card, and almost every millimetre of it carries data: the holder, the licence number, the issue and expiry dates, the issuing authority, the categories of vehicle it covers and the restriction codes attached to them. All of it is translated, both sides.

The reverse is the side people forget to photograph, and on most licences it is the side that carries the table of categories and the legend explaining the restriction codes — which is precisely what a clerk needs in order to understand what the front means. Send both sides, in focus, with the whole card in frame.

Categories are not translated into US classes

European category B, a Japanese ordinary licence, a Latin American class B1 — none of these has an exact US equivalent, and asserting one would be a statement about your state’s vehicle code rather than a translation. We render the category as the document states it, keep the original code, and translate the description of what it permits.

The DMV decides what that corresponds to under its own rules. A few states have reciprocity arrangements with particular countries; most do not, and some will ask you to test regardless of what your licence says.

An International Driving Permit is not a translation

An IDP is a multilingual booklet issued by the country that issued your licence, and it has to be obtained there — nobody in the United States can issue one for a foreign licence, and a translation service certainly cannot. If you did not get one before you travelled, a certified translation of the licence itself is the usual substitute.

Which of the two a DMV, a rental company or an insurer will accept is their rule, not ours, and it varies. Ask before ordering rather than after.

Who else asks for one

Exchanging or applying for a state licence is the obvious case, but it is not the only one:

• Car rental companies, which often ask at the counter rather than at booking
• Insurers rating a new policy, usually alongside an experience letter or a driving record
• Employers hiring for any role that involves driving
• Courts, after a traffic matter
• As a secondary identity document alongside a passport

How it works

Upload a photo or a scan of your document, pick the language pair and check out online. You never have to mail originals: a legible copy is all we need.

A professional human translator, never machine translation, translates the document word for word and mirrors the layout of the original. Every certified translation ships with a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy that meets the requirements of USCIS, courts and universities.

Your translation is delivered digitally, usually within 24 hours for documents of one to three pages, and same-day delivery is available. If anything needs adjusting, we revise it.

Certified vs. standard translation

A certified translation is a word-for-word translation accompanied by a signed statement attesting to its accuracy and completeness. It is what official bodies require: USCIS, courts, universities and government agencies. Certified translations are $24.95 per page, where a page is up to 250 words.

A standard translation is for business or personal use where certification is not needed, such as CVs, client intake forms or marketing material, and is billed at the same $24.95 per page of up to 250 words.

Frequently asked questions

Related services

From the blog