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Certified South African Birth Certificate Translation
eVerbary translates your South African birth certificate 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.
$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.
Unabridged certificates from Home Affairs
South African births are registered with the Department of Home Affairs under the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1992, which requires registration within 30 days. US offices ask for the unabridged birth certificate, which names both parents; the short abridged certificate, a computer printout without the parents' details, is not enough for the State Department and cannot be apostilled. Since 2013 Home Affairs issues only unabridged certificates at registration, but many people born earlier hold only an abridged one and have to apply for the full version.
A current certificate is on A4 paper with the Home Affairs logo top left, a green border and an RSA watermark, and it is in English, so it needs no translation. Older certificates are yellow, and those from before 1994, when English and Afrikaans were the two official languages, are often bilingual or filled in in Afrikaans; those are translated in full. See our Afrikaans page.
Baptism records, and surnames with particles
Many families also keep a baptism certificate from the Dutch Reformed Church (NG Kerk) or another congregation, and some offices accept it as supporting evidence of birth and parentage. Church registers and certificates are usually in Afrikaans, and the oldest entries in Dutch; see our Dutch page. A baptism record supports the civil one but does not replace it.
Afrikaans surnames such as van der Merwe, du Plessis or Janse van Rensburg are reproduced exactly as the certificate writes them, particles in lower case, and the 13-digit ID number is copied digit by digit. If a forename or surname was later changed, see our name change 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.
Frequently asked questions
My birth certificate is in English. Do I need a translation?
No. A Home Affairs certificate wholly in English goes in as it is. Translation is needed only if part of it, such as an older bilingual form or a stamp, is in Afrikaans.
I only have an abridged birth certificate.
The State Department requires the unabridged certificate for immigrant visas, and USCIS generally expects the same evidence of parentage. Apply to Home Affairs, or a South African mission abroad, for the unabridged one.
Do I need an apostille?
Not for USCIS. South Africa has been party to the Apostille Convention since 1995, and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) apostilles unabridged certificates for countries that ask for one.
Ready to get started?
Upload your documents and receive your certified translation, typically within 24 hours.