Notarized birth certificate translation
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A birth certificate follows a person through their whole life, yet it usually works not for that person alone but for their ties to others: parents use it to prove their rights regarding a child, heirs to prove kinship with the deceased, applicants in immigration cases to prove family composition. And it carries three names at once — the child’s, the mother’s, and the father’s. In the translation, each must match that person’s own international passport, so we verify the transliteration as a separate step rather than relying on automatic conversion tables.
At MovaPro, notarized translation of personal documents has been done by degreed translators since 2012. The notary works in the same office, so there is no criss-crossing the city between translation and notarization. We send a quote within 15 minutes, with a discount on orders from 5 pages.
Price: from UAH 570 — translation from UAH 170 (depending on the language) plus notarization UAH 400 Turnaround: from 2 hours Quote: free, within 15 minutes
When a translated birth certificate is required
Requests fall into three groups.
A child’s paperwork. Kindergarten and school abroad, medical care, citizenship acquired through the parents, family files for immigration authorities — from IRCC in Canada to USCIS in the United States. Until a child has a passport, the birth certificate is their main identity document, and it is the first thing requested.
Proof of kinship. In inheritance cases and family reunification, the chain of “who is related to whom” is built out of birth certificates — sometimes two or three generations at once. We translate such sets together, so that the names of shared relatives are rendered identically across every document.
An adult’s own certificate. Marriage abroad, citizenship by descent in countries where it passes down through ancestors, restoring lost documents. Adults rarely think of their own birth certificate — but institutions demand it just as strictly as a child’s.
Three names — three passports to check
The main risk in this document is not the complexity of the text but the transliteration. Oleksandr or Alexander, Kovalova or Kovaleva is not a matter of taste: the translation must use exactly the spelling printed in that person’s international passport. There are three people in the certificate, so there are three spellings to verify. Send the passport copies together with the scan of the certificate — it will save both time and nerves. And if the child has no passport yet, our free transliteration tool shows how the name is rendered under the official rules.
If the child has no passport yet, their name is rendered under the official transliteration rules approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine — the passport will later be issued under those same rules. We additionally reconcile the surname with the parents’ spelling: when their passports were issued under older rules, it is far better to catch the discrepancy before notarization than after a rejection.
Old forms, re-issued certificates, and documents from occupied territories
Soviet-era booklet certificates filled out in Russian have not lost their validity — we translate them as they are, no replacement needed, with all stamps transcribed. But the old form cannot be apostilled: if the institution requires an apostilled original, a re-issued certificate on the current form is obtained through the civil registry office (RACS) first. The application can be filed via Diia, and for clients abroad we handle certificate re-issuance by power of attorney.
Certificates issued by the administrations of temporarily occupied territories are recognized by neither Ukrainian authorities nor foreign institutions. In that case the fact of birth is established through the procedure set by Ukrainian law — via a court or the civil registry authorities. We do not provide legal services, but we will point you to the right starting document and translate the recognized certificate or court decision once you have it.
Apostille and the multilingual extract
For Hague Convention countries the sequence is fixed: first the apostille on the original — for civil registry certificates it is affixed by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine — then the translation together with the apostille stamp, then notarization. Break the order and the stamp stays untranslated. The government apostille fee is not included in our rates; the amounts change, so check the current figures when you file. The full route is described on our apostille and legalization page. If you are not sure which authority apostilles the other documents in your package, try our free route finder.
For some countries there is a shortcut: a multilingual extract from the State Register of Civil Status Acts, which the civil registry office issues for use abroad. If your institution accepts it, a separate translation may not be needed at all — ask them before paying for either option. We will tell you honestly when the extract is the better deal than our service.
Born abroad: translation in the other direction
When a child of Ukrainian citizens is born abroad, the mirror scheme applies: the foreign birth certificate is first apostilled or legalized in the country of issue, and then translated into Ukrainian for the civil registry office, the State Migration Service, and the Ukrainian citizenship procedure. We translate it with every stamp and annotation included; the notary certifies the translator’s signature here in Kyiv. Most often we see certificates from Poland, Germany, Czechia, and the United States.
Cost, turnaround, ordering
The price formula: translation from UAH 170 for a standard document (English — UAH 300, Polish — UAH 430, German — UAH 450) plus UAH 400 for notarization of the translator’s signature — from UAH 570 in total. When no notary is required, certification with the agency’s stamp costs UAH 100. Rates for 40+ languages are collected in our price list.
One certificate without the apostille stage is ready from 2 hours. Send the scan of the document and the family’s passport copies via the order page — within 15 minutes we will come back with an exact price and tell you whether your destination country requires any extra steps.
Frequently asked questions
Whose passports do you need to translate a birth certificate?
All three people named in the document: the child and both parents. A birth certificate is the only personal document that carries three names at once, and each of them must match that person's international passport letter for letter in the translation. A mismatch in even one name is the most common reason a foreign institution returns the whole file. So along with the scan of the certificate, send us copies of the passport pages showing the Latin spelling of each name.
The child does not have a passport yet. How will you transliterate their name?
Under the official transliteration rules approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine — the child's passport will later be issued under the same rules, so the spellings will match. We additionally check the surname against the parents' passports: if their documents render it differently from the current rules, we flag this before notarization and agree with you on a single spelling for the whole set.
The certificate is a Soviet-era one in Russian — can you translate it?
Yes. Soviet-era birth certificates remain valid, and we translate them directly from Russian, including transcriptions of all stamps and seals. The limitation concerns the apostille: Ukraine does not apostille the old booklet-style certificates. If the destination country requires an apostilled original, a re-issued certificate on the current form must be obtained from the civil registry office (RACS) first — the application can be filed via the Diia app, and we can handle this stage for you.
Who issues the apostille on a birth certificate, and when should it be done?
Apostilles on certificates issued by civil registry offices are affixed by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. It must be done before the translation: that way the apostille stamp ends up in the translated text and the document is complete. The government fee for the apostille is paid separately from the translation cost, and the rates change from time to time — check the current amount when you file.
What is a multilingual extract, and does it replace a translation?
It is an extract from the State Register of Civil Status Acts that the civil registry office issues for use abroad in several languages at once. For some countries this extract is enough on its own, with no separate translation — in that case you will not need our service at all, and we will tell you so honestly. Whether your particular institution accepts the multilingual extract is something to confirm with them directly before ordering: practice varies even within a single country.
The child was born abroad. What do the Ukrainian authorities need?
The foreign birth certificate is translated into Ukrainian for the civil registry office, the State Migration Service, and the Ukrainian citizenship procedure. The requirement mirrors the outbound one: the document is first legalized or apostilled in the country of issue, then we translate it together with all its stamps, and a notary certifies the translator's signature here in Ukraine.
How much does a notarized birth certificate translation cost?
From UAH 570: translation from UAH 170 for a standard document depending on the language (English — UAH 300, Polish — UAH 430, German — UAH 450), plus notarization of the translator's signature — UAH 400. If the receiving institution does not require a notary, certification with the agency's stamp is available for UAH 100. We quote the exact total for your language and set of documents within 15 minutes.
Need a translation? Send your documents — quote in 15 minutes
A photo or scan by messenger or email. Discount on 5+ pages.