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Certified French Paternity Acknowledgment Translation

eVerbary translates your French paternity acknowledgment 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.

The acte de reconnaissance

In France the presumption of paternity applies only to married couples. Unmarried parents establish each link separately: the mother usually by being named in the birth act, the father by recognising the child (reconnaissance). It can be done at any mairie, whatever the place of birth or nationality, before or after the birth, or before a notary. The acte de reconnaissance gives the father's and mother's names, dates and places of birth, professions and addresses; a recognition before birth does not name the child.

The recognition is then noted in the margin of the child's birth act and in the livret de famille, and when it is made after the birth declaration the other parent is informed by registered letter. A father can recognise a child in France even if the child is to be born abroad, or recognise from abroad at a French embassy or consulate. If both parents want to recognise the child together, both must be present at the mairie.

Which document a US office needs

For a US passport, citizenship or immigration case, the key proof is usually a recent copy of the French birth certificate showing the father, through the recognition or its marginal note. Translate the acte de reconnaissance as well when the office asks how paternity was established. A PACS creates no link with the children, so partners in a PACS also need a recognition.

Where a father died or never recognised the child, filiation can be established by a notary's acte de notoriété recording possession of status: that the father behaved as a parent, for example by caring for the child or taking part in raising them. It is used, for instance, when a father died without recognising the child, and we translate it like any other civil document. See also the Haitian and Cameroonian 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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