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Certified Indonesian Name Change Document Translation
Certified translation of the documents that record a change of name in Indonesia, 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.
A court determination, then a marginal note
A change of name in Indonesia requires a determination of the district court (penetapan pengadilan negeri), which is then recorded by the civil registration office, Dukcapil, as a catatan pinggir — a marginal note — on the akta kelahiran.
So the proof is a court determination plus an annotated birth act, and the annotated act is the one to send. A reissued act without the catatan pinggir does not show the change.
Many Indonesians have one name
A single legal name with no family name is entirely ordinary in Indonesia, particularly in Java — Suharto, Sukarno. A US form demanding a first and last name forces the person to split or duplicate a single name, and that is not a name change.
We reproduce the name exactly as the document gives it and say that it is a single legal name, rather than inventing a division to fill two fields.
The 1966 name-change policy
Indonesian Chinese were pressed under a 1966 cabinet presidium decision to adopt Indonesian-sounding names, and a great many did. Their documents therefore show a change of name with a specific historical cause, and some families have since changed back.
That is why a name-change instrument is common in Indonesian packets and why a person may hold identity documents under two very different names decades apart. We translate the instrument as written.
NIK, and the KK
The NIK is the sixteen-digit population number encoding the region of registration, the date of birth with an offset for women, and a sequence. It does not change with a name and is the strongest cross-check.
The kartu keluarga, the family card, lists the household and is updated after a change; it is useful supporting evidence and is frequently forgotten. See our Indonesian page.
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
Do I need a court in Indonesia?
Yes. A district court determination, which Dukcapil then records as a catatan pinggir on the birth act.
I only have one name.
Ordinary in Indonesia. We reproduce it as a single legal name rather than splitting it to fill two fields.
Why did my grandparents change their names?
A 1966 policy pressed Indonesian Chinese to adopt Indonesian-sounding names. We translate the instrument as written.
Does the NIK change?
No. The sixteen-digit number survives a change of name.
Ready to get started?
Upload the order, the resolution or the annotated certificate and receive the certified translation, typically within 24 hours.