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Certified Saudi National ID Card Translation

eVerbary translates your Saudi national ID card 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 ten-digit number and what it tells you

Every Saudi citizen receives a national identity card (al-hawiya al-wataniya) from the Civil Affairs agency at 15. Depending on the holder's age it is valid for 5, 10 or 20 years. One side gives the full name, the ten-digit ID number, the date and place of birth and the expiry date; the other has the photo and the basic details in English. Since 2021 a Digital Identity has also been available in the Absher app.

The ID number has a fixed structure, set out by the Ministry of Interior and reproduced by the Saudi Central Bank: the first digit is 1 for a Saudi citizen and 2 for a foreign resident, digits two to nine are a serial number, and the last is a check digit. The same number follows the person through every record, so we copy it digit by digit.

Iqamas, family registers and older cards

Foreign residents carry an iqama, the residence card normally arranged by the employer as sponsor, and its number starts with 2. Families also hold the family register (sijil al-usra), introduced in 1991, which lists the head of household and dependants and is needed for children's passports. Women used the family register rather than a card of their own until 2006; a 2013 amendment made the card compulsory for women.

Older family files may contain the hafizat al-nufus or the Civil Affairs card of 1997. That was the earlier population register, which stopped being issued in 1988; the Civil Affairs card became the only identity document for men in 1997. Since 2019 women can obtain the family register themselves and be recorded as head of household, so recent registers may name a woman in that role. We translate each as a separate document and both sides of every card. See the Saudi passport and birth certificate pages, and our Arabic 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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