How to Get a Birth Certificate Translated in the UK?

A father wrote to us in July. His daughter had been born in Madrid, her mother is Spanish, he is British, and the family had just moved back to England. He wanted her first British passport. The form asked for her birth certificate in English, and he had no idea where to start.

That message could have come from any week of the year. It is the single most common reason people look for birth certificate translation in the UK, and almost everyone starts in the same place — knowing they need something, not knowing what.

This guide walks you through it. No jargon, no long words. Just what actually happens.

First, Answer One Question

Before you do anything else, ask yourself: where is this paper going?

Everything else follows from that one answer. It decides what you need, what you pay, and how long it takes.

Most people fall into one of two groups.

Group one: it is going to a UK office.

The Home Office, UKVI, HM Passport Office, a register office, a council, a school or a university. If that is you, you need a certified birth certificate translation. Nothing more.

Group two: it is going out of the country.

An embassy in London, a town hall in Italy, a registry office in Poland. If that is you, there may be extra steps, and we will come to those later.

Get this one thing clear at the start and you will not waste money.

Step by Step: How to Get a Birth Certificate Translated

You do not need to visit an office or post anything to anyone. Our birth certificate translation agency works entirely online, so the whole job runs from your phone. Here are the five steps, and the first one takes about a minute.

Step one — find the right certificate.

Many countries issue a long version and a short version of a birth certificate. The long one names both parents. The short one does not.

UK offices almost always want the long one, because they are matching the parents’ names against the rest of your file. We regularly receive files named “Birth Certificate Short” for passport applications, and we have to write back.

In your country the long version may be called a Certificado Literal (Spain), a Certidão de Nascimento Inteiro Teor (Brazil and Portugal), a Copie Intégrale (France) or an Odpis Zupełny (Poland).

If you only hold the short one, order the long form before you spend anything on translation.

Step two — take a photo and send it to us.

You do not need to post your original anywhere. A clear photo or scan is enough, and you keep the original with you — an office may well want to see it alongside the translation.

Take the picture in daylight. Get all four corners in the frame. And do both sides. Stamps, registry notes and corrections are often on the back, and a caseworker who sees writing on your original with nothing matching it in the translation will stop and ask.

If there is an apostille page attached, send that too. Upload everything through our order form, or simply email it.

Step three — tell us where it is going.

One line. “This is for HM Passport Office.” “This is for the Polish consulate in London.” That single sentence lets us tell you what you actually need before you pay a penny.

Also tell us how your name is spelt on your passport. We will come back to why that matters so much.

Step four — read the quote.

A person looks at your document before we give you a price. If a page is missing, or you have sent the short certificate, you hear that now rather than after a refusal.

The figure covers the translation, the signed certification page and standard UK postage. Nothing is added at the end. You pay online once you are happy.

Step five — receive it.

You get a PDF by email, and a signed printed copy by post if you want one. Most online applications take the PDF. Paper applications, Post Office Check and Send, and in-person appointments usually want the printed set.

We post anywhere in the UK and overseas, and we can send it straight to the office, your solicitor or your adviser instead of to you.

The five things that must be on the page

UK offices check the same short list every time. If you remember nothing else from this article, remember this.

Your certified translation of a birth certificate must show:

1. A line saying it is a true and accurate translation of the original
2. The date the translation was done
3. The translator’s full name and signature
4. Their professional credentials — ATC, ITI or CIOL membership
5. The contact details of the translator or company

It must also be the whole document. Not a summary. One customer sent us their guidance and it said exactly that: be a full certified translation, not a summary.

A missing date is one of the most common reasons a page comes back. So is missing translator details. Neither has anything to do with the quality of the translation itself.

How to choose who translates it

This is where a lot of people go wrong before they have even started.

You cannot translate your own birth certificate, even if your English is excellent. Nor can your husband, wife, parent or friend. UK offices need the work to come from someone independent, with nothing to gain from your application. A translation you did yourself is treated the same as sending nothing at all.

So when you are picking a company, check two things:

• Are they registered with a professional body — ATC, ITI or CIOL?
• Do those details go on the document itself, or are they only claimed on a website?

The second one matters more than it sounds. An officer who wants to check your translation needs a name and a number on the page in front of them. One customer told us their German office had set only one condition — the translator had to be registered with CIOL or ITI — and mentioned nothing else at all.

Can you order from outside the UK?

Yes, and plenty of people do. Around a quarter of our orders come from Spain, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, India and the UAE.

You do not need a UK address. The PDF reaches you wherever you are, and we can post the signed paper copy to you abroad, or send it directly to a family member, solicitor or office here in Britain.

This comes up most with parents who have not moved back yet, and with people applying to a UK office from their own country.

Ready to get your birth certificate translated in UK?

The next step is small. Take a photo of both sides, write one line about which office asked for it, and send it to us.

We will come back the same working day with a price, a date, and an honest answer on what you need — including when the answer is the cheaper option.

Still have a question? Our FAQ page answers the thirty we get asked most.