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Certified Legal Separation Document Translation
Certified translation of legal separation decrees, agreements and registry annotations — a status that exists in most of the world, means something different in each of them, and is repeatedly mistaken for a divorce by US offices. eVerbary translates it into English for $24.95 per page with no word cap; most orders are delivered within a few hours.
$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.
Legal separation is not divorce, and the difference is the point
A legal separation ends the obligation to cohabit and settles property, support and custody while leaving the marriage in existence. The parties are not free to remarry. Most US offices treat a separation decree as a divorce decree, and every consequence that follows from that is wrong.
For an immigration petition, a separated person is married. For a marriage license, they are not eligible. For a widow or widower claim, the marriage was subsisting at death. We translate the decree as what it says it is and do not smooth the term into "divorce".
Where it is a step and where it is the only option
In Italy, separation was for decades a mandatory stage before divorce with a statutory waiting period, so an Italian file routinely contains both a separation and a later divorce, and the dates are consequential.
In the Philippines, there is no divorce for most citizens, so legal separation and annulment are the only routes and a Filipino separation decree will never be followed by a divorce decree. A US reader waiting for one is waiting for a document that does not exist.
Consensual and contested produce different documents
A consensual separation is usually an agreement homologated or approved by a court or, in several countries now, executed before a notary or a registrar and registered. A contested one is a judgment with findings.
They look nothing alike and they carry different weight. We identify the instrument — agreement, homologation, judgment, notarial deed — rather than labelling everything "separation papers", because the reader is assessing what was decided and by whom.
The annotation on the marriage record
In civil-law systems the operative effect is recorded as a marginal annotation on the marriage entry, and a marriage certificate issued afterwards carries it. That annotated certificate is frequently better evidence than the decree itself, because it shows the registry has given effect to it.
A marriage certificate with no annotation, issued after a separation, usually means the short-form extract was ordered rather than the full one. Ask the registry for the full copy before paying for a translation of the wrong document.
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
Is a legal separation the same as a divorce?
No. The marriage continues and neither party may remarry. Offices that treat the two as equivalent reach the wrong answer on eligibility.
My Filipino client has a separation decree and no divorce.
There is no divorce for most Filipino citizens. The separation or an annulment is the end of the road, not a step toward something else.
Which document should I send?
The decree or agreement, and the marriage certificate issued afterwards with its annotation. The annotated certificate shows the registry gave effect to the decision.
My marriage certificate shows no annotation.
Likely a short-form extract. Ask the registry for the full copy, which carries the marginal notes.
Ready to get started?
Upload the document and receive the certified translation, typically within 24 hours.