Home / French Death Certificate Translation
Certified French Death Certificate Translation
eVerbary translates your French death certificate into English for $24.95 per page with no word cap, by a professional human translator, with a signed certification. Most orders are delivered within a few hours. Accepted by USCIS and by US universities, colleges and schools, or your money back.
$24.95/page
Flat rate per page, no word cap. No hidden fees.
Money-back guarantee
Accepted by USCIS and by US universities, colleges and schools, or your money back.
24-hour delivery
Most 1-3 page documents are delivered within 24 hours. Same-day available.
The acte de décès and what it does not say
A death in France is first certified by a health professional in a certificat de décès, now usually sent electronically. On that basis the mairie of the place of death draws up the acte de décès, the civil record. A full copy (copie intégrale) gives the date, hour and place of death; the deceased's names, date and place of birth, profession and address; the parents' names; the spouse or PACS partner; and the person who declared the death.
It does not give the cause of death. If an insurer or court needs the cause, that is a medical document, not the civil one. Anyone may request a copy of a death act, free and without justification, from the mairie of the place of death; for French nationals who died abroad, the record is held by the Service central d'état civil in Nantes. See our French page.
Notes in other records, and the family booklet
The death is also noted in the margin of the deceased's birth act, and the surviving spouse's marriage certificate may be needed to show that the marriage ended by death. If you are proving a prior marriage ended for a new US petition, the death act and a recent marriage act together usually tell the whole story. If your file includes the deceased's birth act, order a recent copy: one issued before the death will not show it.
Families often hold the livret de famille, where the death is entered as well. It is useful, but offices abroad usually ask for a copy of the act itself. Dates and hours in French civil acts are often written in words, and we translate them in words. For deaths recorded in Haiti or French-speaking Africa, see the Haitian and Senegalese pages.
What USCIS requires
Under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), a foreign-language document must be accompanied by a complete English translation and the translator's certification that it is accurate. Every seal, stamp and marginal note is part of the document, so every one is translated.
State agencies set their own rules — see government agencies — and what our certification states is on this page.
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 one sheet of your document is one page, with no word cap.
A standard translation is the same professional human translation without the certificate, for when you only need to understand the content or for internal or informal use. It is billed at the same $24.95 per page with no word cap.
Frequently asked questions
The death certificate doesn't show the cause of death.
Correct: the French acte de décès does not state it. The cause appears only in medical documents.
My father died abroad but was French.
His death act is kept by the Service central d'état civil in Nantes. We translate that copy like any other.
Is the livret de famille page enough?
Usually not on its own. Order a copy of the acte de décès; we can translate both.
Ready to get started?
Upload your documents and receive your certified translation, typically within 24 hours.