Prism Language Solutions produces certified translations of official documents for use in the United States: a full English translation, formatted to mirror the original, with a signed statement from the translator that it is complete and accurate. That is the format USCIS specifies in 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), and the one courts, universities and state agencies most commonly ask for. Short certificates are usually back within 24 hours; the quote is fixed and arrives within the hour on business days.
Last reviewed September 11, 2026 by Sarah J, Prism Language Solutions
Certified does not mean notarized, and it does not mean approved. In the US a certified translation is simply a translation accompanied by a signed statement of accuracy. Nobody licenses translators federally, no agency stamps them, and USCIS does not keep a list. What the receiving office checks is whether every word on the original has been rendered, whether the layout lets a reviewer match the two documents line by line, and whether the certificate says who translated it and that they are competent to do so. We build every certified translation to pass that check, because a rejected translation costs the applicant weeks and sometimes a filing fee.Most of the certified work we see is immigration: birth, marriage and divorce records for I-130 and I-485 packets, police clearances, and the school records that go with a student or work visa. The rest is a long tail: a Polish court judgment for a New Jersey custody hearing, an Indian degree for a licensing board, a Brazilian bank statement for a mortgage lender, a German vaccination record for a school district. The same certificate serves all of them. The judgement lies in the translation itself.
- 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 a Certified Translation Includes
Every certified translation we deliver has three parts. The English translation itself, complete: stamps, seals, handwritten notes, marginal annotations and text on the reverse are all rendered or described, because a reviewer who sees a stamp on the original and nothing in the translation assumes something was left out. The Certificate of Translation Accuracy, on our letterhead, signed and dated by the translator or a project manager, giving the translator's name, the language pair, and a statement that the translation is complete and accurate and that the signer is competent to translate. And a copy of the source document, attached, so the two travel together.
The translation is laid out to follow the original. A two-column civil registry extract becomes a two-column English table; a form with boxes becomes a form with boxes. This is not decoration. A USCIS officer or a court clerk compares the two documents visually, and a translation that reorders the content, however accurate, gets a second look it does not need.
- Full English translation, formatted to mirror the original page for page
- Signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy with the translator's name and the date
- Copy of the source document attached
- PDF delivery by email; printed and signed hard copies by mail on request
- Notarization of the certificate where the receiving body asks for it (see notarized translation)
Certified Translation for USCIS
USCIS is the receiving body for most of our certified work, so it is worth being precise about what it requires. The regulation, 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), says any foreign-language document must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and accurate, together with a certification that the translator is competent to translate. Nothing there requires notarization, an ATA-certified translator, or a translation done in the United States. Officers do, however, issue Requests for Evidence when a translation is partial, when a summary has been substituted for a full rendering, or when the certificate is missing or unsigned.
The two mistakes we see most often on rejected packets are self-translation and abbreviation. An applicant, or a relative, translates their own birth certificate and signs the certificate; USCIS treats that as an interested party certifying their own evidence. Or a translator renders the substantive fields and skips the registrar's boilerplate, and the officer sees an original with twelve lines and a translation with six. Our translators are third parties and they translate everything. Details for the main document types are on the USCIS translation page.Certified Translation for Courts and Attorneys
State and federal courts accept translated exhibits with a certification of accuracy, and most local rules allow the opposing party to challenge it. That shapes how we work on litigation documents: the translator is named, the certificate is worded to be usable as a declaration, and the translation preserves the ambiguities of the original rather than resolving them. A vague clause in a Spanish contract stays vague in English; deciding what it meant is the court's job, not the translator's.
We translate foreign judgments and decrees for recognition proceedings, contracts and correspondence for commercial disputes, foreign police and medical records for immigration court, and discovery material in volume. Where a case turns on a single phrase, we can supply a translator's declaration explaining the choice and, if the matter goes to hearing, an interpreter from the same network. Details on the legal translation page.
Certified Translation for Universities and Licensing Boards
Admissions offices, credential evaluators such as WES and ECE, and state licensing boards for nursing, engineering, medicine and teaching all ask for certified translations of diplomas, transcripts and professional licenses. Their requirements differ from USCIS in one respect that catches people out: many want the translation sent directly from the translation provider, or sealed, rather than forwarded by the applicant. Tell us who the recipient is and we deliver in the form they specify.
Transcripts are the document type where a literal translation is least useful and a careful one matters most. Course titles, grading scales and degree names do not map cleanly between systems, and an evaluator needs to see what the original says, not what its American equivalent might be. We translate the terms as they stand and add a translator's note where a grading scale or credit system needs explaining. See diploma translation and academic transcript translation.
Documents We Translate and Certify
Anything issued by an authority, and most things signed by a person, can be certified. The list below is what arrives most weeks; if yours is not on it, send it anyway.
| Document | Usual recipient | Typical turnaround |
|---|---|---|
| Birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates | USCIS, passport agencies, courts, Social Security | 24 hours |
| Diplomas, degrees, transcripts | Universities, WES/ECE, licensing boards, employers | 24 to 48 hours |
| Passports, national ID cards, driver’s licenses | USCIS, DMVs, banks | 24 hours |
| Police clearance and criminal record certificates | USCIS, employers, adoption agencies | 24 hours |
| Court judgments, decrees, powers of attorney | State and federal courts, attorneys, notaries | 2 to 5 business days |
| Medical records, vaccination cards, lab results | Hospitals, schools, insurers, USCIS (I-693 support) | 1 to 3 business days |
| Bank statements, tax returns, pay slips | USCIS (I-864 support), mortgage lenders, landlords | 1 to 3 business days |
| Contracts, articles of incorporation, financial statements | Attorneys, banks, state agencies | 3 to 7 business days |
Each document type has its own page under documents we translate, with the issuing authorities, the common problems and the guide price for that document.
Certified Translation Cost
Short official documents are priced per page, and as a guide certified translation in the US market starts at around $24.95 per page, where a page is up to about 250 words. Longer documents are priced per source word, roughly $0.10 to $0.25 depending on the language and the subject. Rush delivery, hard copies, notarization and apostille handling are itemized separately so you can see what you are paying for. The number on your quote is the number on your invoice.
Two things move the price: language and legibility. A clean Spanish birth certificate is at the bottom of the range. A handwritten 1960s Amharic baptismal record that has to be transcribed before it can be translated is not, and we say so before we start. Full ranges are on the pricing page.
How to Order a Certified Translation
Send a clear scan or phone photo of every page, front and back, through the quote form or by email. Tell us who will receive the translation, because USCIS, a court and a university want slightly different things. A project manager checks the document is legible and complete and replies with a fixed price and a delivery date, usually within the hour during business hours. On your go-ahead a translator who works into English as a native speaker translates it, a second linguist reviews it against the original, and the certified PDF is emailed to you. Hard copies follow by mail if you asked for them. Nothing is charged until you confirm the quote.
Ready to start? Send the document or the booking details through the quote form, call +1 (833) 282 8883, or email info@prismlinguistics.com. You get a fixed written price within 60 minutes during business hours.