Divorce Decree Translation

Prism Language Solutions translates foreign divorce decrees and divorce certificates into English and certifies them for USCIS petitions, marriage license applications and family court filings. A one-page divorce certificate is usually back within 24 hours from around $24.95 per page; a full court judgment is priced per word and takes two to five business days. Every translation carries a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy in the form 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) requires, with the operative part, the finality date and the court's seal always rendered.

Last reviewed September 11, 2026 by Sarah J, Prism Language Solutions

• Certified translations prepared to meet USCIS requirements
• Human linguists only, matched to the subject
• Fixed written quote within 60 minutes in business hours
• One office in New York, linguists in every state

What USCIS Needs from a Divorce Decree Translation

The I-130 instructions require, for any petitioner or beneficiary who was married before, documents showing that each prior marriage was legally terminated. The USCIS Policy Manual is blunt: in all cases the divorce must be final, the issuing court must have had jurisdiction, and the termination is documented by a copy of the final divorce decree (or, for an annulment, the court order). What the officer looks for on the translation is the name of the court, the case number, the operative words dissolving the marriage, and the date the judgment took effect. A decree still inside an appeal or waiting period is not final; a Pakistani talaq, for example, takes effect only ninety days after notice to the Union Council, when the council issues its certificate.

Decree vs Certificate of Divorce by Country

Which document exists, and which one a US recipient accepts, depends on the country.

• Mexico. A judicial divorce produces a sentencia; once final (ejecutoriada) it is registered with the Registro Civil, which issues an acta de divorcio and enters a marginal note on the marriage act. USCIS files usually carry the acta (Spanish translation).
• Dominican Republic. The court's sentencia must be registered with the civil registry, and US immigration wants the resulting divorce act from the Junta Central Electoral rather than the court paper alone.
• Russia and the former Soviet republics. The ZAGS civil registry issues a certificate of divorce whether the divorce was by consent at the registry or by court decision; the court divorce takes effect when the decision enters into force (Russian, Ukrainian).
• India. A decree of divorce from the district or family court under section 13 or 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, or the equivalent personal law; mutual-consent decrees follow a six-month cooling period. The certified copy of the decree is the document (Hindi, Punjabi).
• Brazil. Consensual divorces without minor children can be done by public deed at a notary under Law 11.441 of 2007; the deed or judgment is then entered as an averbação on the marriage certificate, and that annotated certidão is what most clients send (Portuguese).
• United Kingdom. The decree absolute became the final order on 6 April 2022; either ends the marriage.
• Philippines. No divorce for most Filipinos: a marriage ends by annulment or declaration of nullity, the decision is registered, and the PSA marriage certificate carries an annotation. Filipino Muslims may divorce under the Code of Muslim Personal Laws. We translate the decision, the certificate of finality and the annotated certificate together (Tagalog).
• South Korea. The detailed Marriage Relation Certificate from the family relations registry shows the divorce and is often filed instead of a decree (Korean).

Translating a Multi-Page Divorce Judgment

Indian, Latin American and Middle Eastern judgments routinely run twenty to sixty pages, with the marriage dissolved in two lines near the end. The temptation is to translate those two lines. We advise against it for anything going to USCIS or a court, because the recitals are where the reviewer finds the parties' full names, the marriage date and the court's jurisdiction. Long judgments are priced per source word, so the figure is fixed before work starts, and a legal translator who knows the source-country procedure handles them: someone who recognizes that a Mexican sentencia ejecutoriada and a Brazilian sentença transitada em julgado both mean the judgment is final. Ambiguity in the original stays ambiguous in English. Details on legal translation.

Divorce Decree Translation for Remarriage

Marriage license clerks want proof that the last marriage ended before they issue a new license. The New York City Clerk asks an applicant who was married before to bring the divorce decree and, where it is not in English, a certified translation. Other counties vary, so tell us which clerk's office it is for. Where the country issues a short certificate of divorce, that is usually the simpler document to translate and carry.

Divorce Decree Translation for Custody and Support Orders

A foreign divorce judgment often contains the only custody and child-support order a family has, and a parent who moves to the United States may need it enforced here. Under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, adopted in nearly every state, a court treats a foreign country as if it were a US state for jurisdiction purposes and registers an out-of-state custody determination on a petition with a certified copy of the order. For these filings we translate the whole judgment, keep the paragraph numbering so the attorney can cite it, and word the certificate as a declaration; for the hearing itself, see court interpreting.

Divorce Decree Translation Cost

As a guide, a divorce certificate of one or two pages is certified from around $24.95 per page in the US market and delivered within 24 hours. A full judgment is priced per source word, typically in the legal range of $0.14 to $0.20, and takes two to five business days. Notarization, where a clerk or consulate asks for it, is about $15 to $25 (notarized translation). Send a scan of every page, including the registry stamp on the last one and any annotated marriage certificate, and say who will receive it. The quote is fixed and arrives within 60 minutes on business days; ranges are on the pricing page.

Questions we get asked