It is crucial that you professionally translate birth certificate if you attempt to obtain any legal documents. It can be used for nearly all immigration transactions – whether you are applying for a visa or residency. It is also a requirement when you enroll at a foreign university.

For those who are planning their dream wedding in another country, birth certificate translation is part of the requirement so you can receive your marriage license. With this, you need to ensure that translation is accurate and complete so it can reduce the number of potential problems you may experience along the way.

If you are new to the process of translation, the first thing that you need to do is to look for an agency. While there are many agencies you can consider, you should remember that not all are created equal. By comparing and reading reviews, you can find the right one in no time.

Once you found the right one, you should ask the following questions:

What documents do you translate?

The first thing that you need to ask is their services or documents they translate. This is to ensure that they have everything you need. Aside from translating birth certificate, it is ideal that they offer other document translations from adoption to criminal records, death decrees, legal contracts, passports, and visas.

Aside from that, an ideal agency will also offer translations of affidavits, bank statements, diplomas, emails, rental agreements, transcripts, divorce documents, financial statements, medical records, mortgage applications, tax returns, vaccination records and many more.

What are the languages you translate?

A reputable translation agency offers translation in many languages. There are translation agencies that can translate over 50 languages from Albanian to Arabic, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Dutch, Farsi, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Punjabi, French, Greek, Norwegian, Macedonian, Romanian, Swahili, Croatian and many more.

To be clear, you should check the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page of the agency to have the full list of languages they translate. If you do not see one, you can simply email the customer support to get the full list. You should get a quote immediately.

How long does it take to translate documents?

The translation will depend on the agency and the number of words. There are agencies that charge per page while there are others that charge per words. The going rate for one page (less than 250 words) of Spanish, French, German, Arabic and Russian translation is 24 hours.

Asking how long it takes to translate documents is important so you can plan accordingly. Just remember that the time will depend on the language and pages. If you need a notarized translation, it will take more time, as the agency needs to make an appointment with a notary public.

Do you have a money back guarantee?

Finally, you should ask the agency if they have a money back guarantee or 100% guarantee. If you need a translation for your USCIS (the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) requirement, money back guarantee will ensure that you will be refunded in case of non-acceptance.