U.S. Department of State, Passport Services: Translation Requirements for Documents in Another Language

Worth knowing about U.S. Passports

U.S. Passports requirements in detail

Born abroad: the foreign documents a passport can need

People born outside the United States can use a full-validity U.S. passport, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, a Certificate of Naturalization or a Certificate of Citizenship as primary evidence (Citizenship evidence).

Those are in English. The translation question comes up when you claim citizenship through a parent without one of them.

If you became a citizen at birth through a U.S. citizen parent, the State Department asks for your foreign birth certificate listing your parents, your parents' evidence of citizenship, their marriage certificate if they were married, and a statement of where they lived before your birth (Form DS-5507 on the DS-11 list).

If you became a citizen through a parent's naturalization or the Child Citizenship Act, add evidence of permanent residence and, where it applies, documents on legal custody; a parent who was not married to the other parent may need a marriage certificate dated after your birth or a certified court order of legitimation (Citizenship evidence, DS-11).

Each of those documents that is not in English needs its own translation.

The notarized letter, and where the State Department's pages differ

The citizenship evidence page, owned by Passport Services, says the translator must provide a notarized letter about the accuracy of the translation and the translator's ability to translate the document (Citizenship evidence).

The DS-11 application form (edition 04-2025) asks only for an "official translation" and says nothing about a notary (Form DS-11, Application for a U.S. Passport, edition 04-2025).

We have not resolved that difference for you; a translation that meets the web page also meets the form.

In practice that means ordering the translation with notarization. Every eVerbary translation comes with a signed certificate of translation accuracy; with notarization ($34.90 per order) it is signed before a notary.

Because the State Department's letter also covers the translator's ability to translate, say in the order notes that the translation is for a U.S. passport application.

Originals, photocopies, and getting them back

The State Department wants the citizenship evidence itself plus a clear photocopy, and the document must carry the seal or stamp of the office that issued it; if you do not have the original, get a replacement from that office.

You can hand in a second certified copy instead, which it keeps. Electronic copies of birth certificates are not accepted (Citizenship evidence).

Documents are mailed back in a separate package from the passport (Citizenship evidence), so plan for the foreign birth certificate to be away for a while if you need it for anything else. The translation is a separate document from the certificate and does not replace it.

Documents people usually translate

• Foreign birth certificates listing the parents
• Parents' foreign marriage certificates
• Foreign divorce decrees and custody orders, when legal custody has to be shown
• Foreign adoption decrees and court orders of legitimation

What an eVerbary translation includes

• A complete English translation of every page, stamps, seals and handwritten notes included, laid out like the original so each line can be matched.
• A signed certificate of translation accuracy on letterhead, with our contact details, delivered as a PDF you can upload or print.
• $24.95 per page of up to 250 words, certification included; 24 hours for one to three pages as standard. Regular clients who need it can get delivery in as little as 30 minutes, on request.
• Notarization added at checkout ($34.90 per order) when the office asks for a notarized translation.

Submitting the translation to U.S. Passports

• You apply in person with Form DS-11 and hand in the foreign document, its photocopy, and the English translation with the translator's notarized letter, together (Citizenship evidence, DS-11).

  Bring a printed copy of the translation; the original-language document still has to be the original or a certified copy from the issuing office.

• The State Department returns your documents by mail, separately from the passport (Citizenship evidence).

How to order

1. Scan or photograph every page of the document, front and back, including any stamps on the reverse.
2. Upload it, choose the language and "certified", and see the price before paying.
3. Receive the PDF, usually within 24 hours for one to three pages, and submit it with the copy of the original wherever the office asks for it.

Frequently asked questions