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Somali to English Translation
eVerbary turns Somali-language documents into certified English translations accepted by USCIS, courts, universities and employers across the United States. Professional human translators, flat $24.95 per page and a 100% USCIS acceptance guarantee.
$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.
What Somali applicants usually have
Somalia has had little functioning civil registration for decades, so many people do not hold a birth certificate at all. What arrives instead is a sworn affidavit, a court declaration of age or parentage, a document issued in Kenya or Ethiopia, or paperwork from a refugee agency. We translate whatever you have, as it stands.
Deciding what a US office will accept in place of a birth certificate is a question for your attorney or the form instructions — not something a translation can answer. What we can do is make sure the document you file is readable and certified.
Somali spelling, and names without surnames
Somali has been written in the Latin alphabet since 1972, with conventions that surprise English readers: doubled vowels mark length, and the letters c and x stand for sounds English has no letter for. A name respelled "by ear" stops matching the passport, so we keep the spelling as issued.
Somali names are a given name followed by the father's and grandfather's given names, with no inherited family name. US forms record the last of those as a surname, which is why relatives can appear to share a last name in one document and not in another. The translation reproduces the names as given.
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 a page is up to 250 words.
A standard translation is for business or personal use where certification is not needed, such as CVs, client intake forms or marketing material, and is billed at $0.10 per word.
Frequently asked questions
I have no birth certificate. What do I send?
Send what you do have — an affidavit, a court declaration, or a document issued by another country. We translate it; whether it is accepted is for the receiving office to decide.
My documents are in Arabic, not Somali.
Many Somali records are written in Arabic. We translate those too; say so when you order.
Can you change the spelling of my name to match my passport?
We follow the passport and note where the original document differs, rather than altering what the document says.
Ready to get started?
Upload your documents and receive your certified translation, typically within 24 hours.