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Certified French Name Change Document Translation

eVerbary translates your French name change document 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.

Four procedures, four kinds of document

A French first name is changed by application at the mairie, which refers the case to the public prosecutor if it sees no legitimate interest. Since a law of 2 March 2022, an adult can also, once in a lifetime and at the mairie, take or add the name of the parent who did not pass theirs on; a child of 13 or older must consent to the change of their own name. Any other change of family name needs a legitimate reason and a decree, after a notice in the Journal officiel.

For the decree route the file goes to the Ministry of Justice's Direction des affaires civiles et du Sceau, and a decision can take months or even years. Once the decree is published, anyone may challenge it before the Conseil d'État within two months, and the Conseil d'État can then issue a certificate that no one has opposed it. Each step leaves its own document, from the mairie's decision to the published decree, and we translate whichever you hold.

The proof most offices want

Every change of first name or family name is noted in the margin of the birth act, and where needed of the spouse's and children's acts. For a US agency the clearest proof is therefore a recent copy of the French birth certificate showing the note, with the decision or decree beside it. The simplified procedure at the mairie takes about a month, so a birth act ordered soon afterwards may be the first document to show the new name.

A usage name (nom d'usage), such as a spouse's name, is not a change of name: it does not alter the birth act. A PACS has no effect on names at all. If your documents show different surnames for one of these reasons, the translation keeps each as printed. See also the Haitian and Congolese pages and our French page.

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.

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