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Certified Haitian Name Change Document Translation
Certified translation of the documents that record a change of name in Haiti, including the marginal annotations and registry endorsements that carry the legal effect and that a reader unfamiliar with the system will otherwise skip.
$24.95/page
Flat rate per page, up to 250 words. No hidden fees.
100% USCIS acceptance
Every certified translation is guaranteed to be accepted by USCIS.
24-hour delivery
Most 1-3 page documents are delivered within 24 hours. Same-day available.
The Archives Nationales holds the record
Haitian births are declared to an officier d'état civil and the register is deposited with the Archives Nationales, which issues the certified extrait des registres that foreign offices require. An officer's own copy is not the same document.
A change of name is obtained through the tribunal de première instance and transcribed against the record, and the extract issued afterwards carries it.
Acte de notoriété, for those never registered
A substantial proportion of Haitians were never registered at birth, and the lawful substitute is an acte de notoriété — a court-attested declaration by witnesses establishing the facts of birth — sometimes followed by a late registration.
A US reader unfamiliar with it treats it as an affidavit of convenience. It is a recognised instrument with a legal basis, and it is not a name change. We translate it as what it is.
French, Creole and the spelling of names
Records are written in French while daily life is in Haitian Creole, and a name pronounced in Creole may have been written down by a clerk in French orthography or phonetically — producing Jean-Baptiste, Jean Batis and Janbatis for one person.
Handwritten registers from earlier decades compound it. A great many apparent name changes in Haitian packets are clerical spellings, and we say so rather than translating two documents and leaving the reader to conclude they are different people.
CIN, NIF, and legalisation
The CIN from the Office National d'Identification and the NIF tax number appear on Haitian documents and do not change with a name. Both are reproduced exactly.
Haiti is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so documents for use in the United States go through consular legalisation, and those stamps are translated with the rest. See our Haitian Creole and French pages.
Ordering, and what the certification covers
Upload the document, choose certified translation at $24.95 per page of up to 250 words, and it comes back typically within 24 hours as a PDF formatted to mirror the original, with a signed certificate of translation accuracy on letterhead. Marginal annotations are translated in place, in the margin, so the reader can see that the change was recorded against the original entry rather than written into a fresh document. See how we translate and certified versus standard.
Frequently asked questions
Which extract do I need?
The certified extrait from the Archives Nationales. A civil status officer's own copy is not the same document.
What is an acte de notoriété?
A court-attested declaration by witnesses establishing the facts of birth, for people never registered. It is a recognised instrument, not a name change.
My name is spelled three ways.
French orthography, Creole phonetics and handwritten registers. Usually clerical rather than a legal change, and we say so.
Can I apostille a Haitian document?
No. Haiti is not a party to the Convention, so it goes through consular legalisation.
Ready to get started?
Upload the order, the resolution or the annotated certificate and receive the certified translation, typically within 24 hours.