The simple way to get a certified translation of a French birth certificate in English

Did you ever do a Google search for a certified translation of your French birth certificate and end up scrolling for hours for the ‘fastest’, ‘most accurate’, ‘cheapest’, ‘best’ certified translator? Yep, us too. The truth is, translating a birth certificate, certifying it and returning it to you should be straightforward. But first, before we get to that, let’s quickly cover some essentials…

Official Birth Certificate

What is a certified translation of a birth certificate?

A certified translation is when an official authority, government, employer, etc. will need an accurate translation of your foreign birth certificate for official use. Sounds simple, right? Well, this is where it gets trickier. Not just anyone is qualified to produce a certified translation. So, asking a friend, family member, neighbour who speaks the language, to translate for you just won’t quite cut it – sorry to have to be the one to share the bad news.

A certified translator is basically someone who has both the qualifications and/or expertise necessary – such as a degree in translation -, and also has the credentials necessary to issue a recognised certified document. In short, this means affiliation to an official body such as the Chartered Institute of Linguists, the Institute of Translation and Interpreting, or similar.

How much is it going to cost for a certified translation of a French birth certificate?

Well, you guessed it, a certified translation is always going to cost more than asking that friendly neighbour who did A-level French. Why? You are basically paying for the certification process which involves accuracy checks, the confidence that the document is 100% correct and includes no errors and the issue of a statement of truth with a stamp, signature and all the details that the government usually asks for. Here is a handy little how-to guide from the UK government regarding what is usually necessary for a document to be considered certified (Certifying a document - GOV.UK). Warning, not all countries are the same, so always check with the authorities in the country where your translation is needed.

Despite all of this, costs vary from as little as around £30 for a standard one-page short birth certificate, to anywhere upwards. Like with most things, shopping around is key. Some translation service providers will charge a lot to cover their expensive overheads. Warning: here comes the needless self-promotion of my services… Here at French Medical Translators, we usually charge an additional (small) fee for certification. This is fixed, however, and does not change even if you have multiple documents requiring certification and will always be indicated on the quote which you receive before your translation to make sure you are happy with our fee.

How long does a certified translation of a birth certificate take?

I can’t speak for all of the certified translators on the market, but I can tell you a few things that may reassure. Usually a short one-page birth certificate shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours to translate. Obviously certain factors can slow things down such as nasty handwriting which takes time to decipher, complicated formatting as is often the case with some French-speaking African countries, and of course taking time to issue the certification documents and stamp. However, all in all a standard, non-complex birth certificate translation should be with you in 24 hours.

Can you certify a French birth certificate translated by someone else?

Personally, I do not do this for several reasons. Firstly, it is not my work and even if I speak the language, I refuse to certify another person’s own work. Secondly, it is not very ethical to do. If someone is unable to certify their own translation, then this means they are not a qualified translator and it is not advised to use their services. Also, as a certified translator working in the UK, it is necessary for the translation to have been produced by my own hand.

Any other questions about certified translations of your French birth certificates?  Or perhaps you want a quote from a certified translator to see how much it would cost and how long it would take? If you need to contact me, simply click the link to my contact page or visit the bottom of my home page and send me a quick message, I answer all queries within the hour offering you total peace of mind when you need that certified translation asap!