Certified Translation Services for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Certified translation for Philadelphia is available from Apostille Authentications starting at $65 per page, and most orders are completed in 1 to 2 business days. You receive the translation with a signed certificate of accuracy. Our office is in the Portland, Oregon area and we handle Philadelphia orders remotely: upload the document through the quote form and we send the translation back electronically or by mail. The sections below cover the Philadelphia offices your documents are likely to pass through.
Upload your document below as a PDF, JPEG, PNG or Word file, or call (971) 514-3743 for a quote.
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Philadelphia records: City Hall and the state vital records office
Philadelphia is both a city and a county, so county records are kept by city offices. Marriage records are held by the Register of Wills, Marriage Record Department, City Hall, Room 415, Philadelphia, PA 19107, open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The city tells visitors to arrive by 2:30 p.m. for same-day service.
| Certified copy of a marriage record | $25 |
|---|---|
| Exemplified copy (the city describes this as the copy for international use) | $50 |
| Same-day processing | $45 additional |
| Research fee for mail requests | $15 |
| Phone | (215) 686-2234 |
- Birth and death certificates. These are state records. The Division of Vital Records has a public office at 110 N. 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Appointments are required at this office, and a birth certificate costs $20.
USCIS translations for Philadelphia filers
The requirement is federal: 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) says a document containing foreign language must be accompanied by a full English translation certified by the translator as complete and accurate, plus the translator’s certification of competence to translate from that language into English. Nothing in the rule requires a notary.
Each of our translations is issued with a certificate of accuracy that makes both statements. Whether USCIS accepts a given submission is its decision.
Philadelphia courts and language access
State trial courts here form the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Its Language Access Plan gives the district’s address as 100 South Broad Street, Second Floor, Land Title Building, Philadelphia, PA 19110, and commits to language services at no cost to the court user, with certified interpreters for civil and criminal proceedings. Philadelphia Family Court is at 1501 Arch Street.
According to the plan, the five languages most requested in 2024 were Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Mandarin Chinese and Arabic, and court forms have been translated into Cambodian, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese. Requests and questions go to languageaccesscoordinator@courts.phila.gov.
Those services do not extend to translating your own exhibits. Check with the court or your attorney about the translation needed for a foreign-language document you plan to file.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania sits at the James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse, 601 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106.
Getting a Pennsylvania apostille from Philadelphia
There is no apostille counter in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Department of State issues apostilles only from Harrisburg, so the usual route is mail: send the original document, the request form, $15 per document by check or money order payable to Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Apostilles & Certifications, North Office Building, Room 201, 401 North Street, Harrisburg, PA 17120-0029. The Department lists two to three weeks for mail, excluding mailing time. Walk-in service at that address is first come, first served.
For Philadelphia marriage records, the Department requires the signature of the register of wills or clerk of the orphans’ court. Birth certificates should not be notarized. Diplomas and transcripts must be notarized by a Pennsylvania notary before they are submitted.
When a translation needs to be notarized for Pennsylvania, for example for a Pennsylvania apostille, we hire a notary commissioned in Pennsylvania to notarize the translator’s statement. State notary regulations require the translator to swear or affirm that the translation is accurate and complete, and the notarial certificate has to be in English.
Be careful with anyone advertising as a notario publico. Pennsylvania law bars notaries who are not attorneys from using that title or giving immigration advice.
Consulates and universities
The U.S. Department of State’s consular listing for Pennsylvania shows consulates in Philadelphia for Canada, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Israel, Italy, Mexico and Panama. The Consulate General of Italy gives its address as 1818 Market Street, Suite 910, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Each consulate sets its own translation and legalization requirements, so confirm them with the consulate before ordering.
Temple University’s international admissions page states: if your documents are not in English, provide them in the original language and with an English translation. Drexel University says a transcript issued in a language other than English must be accompanied by an English translation, and for some countries it specifies a certified English translation.
Languages in Philadelphia
Census Bureau American Community Survey figures published by Census Reporter put the city’s population at about 1.57 million. An estimated 24.9 percent of residents, around 370,000 people, speak a language other than English at home, and 16.1 percent were born abroad. The city’s Office of Immigrant Affairs language access plan names Spanish, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian and Arabic as languages for translating vital city documents.
Our most requested languages are Spanish, Russian, Hindi, Urdu, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic and Czech, out of 100 offered. Ask about Portuguese or any language not named here.
Placing an order from Philadelphia
- Step 1. Upload your document to the quote form in PDF, JPEG, PNG or Word format. We have no Philadelphia office or pickup.
- Step 2. Note the recipient, such as USCIS, a court, a university or a consulate, and whether you want the translator’s statement notarized or help with an apostille.
- Step 3. Accept the quote. Certified translation is priced from $65 per page and usually takes 1 to 2 business days.
- Step 4. Receive the translation electronically or by mail.
- Contact. Phone (971) 514-3743, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mailing address: 5 Centerpointe Drive, Suite 400, Lake Oswego, OR 97035.
Related services for Philadelphia
- Pennsylvania document translation services: the statewide rules for courts, notaries, vital records and driver licensing
- Pennsylvania apostille service
- All document translation services
Philadelphia translation questions
Apostille Authentications charges from $65 per page and completes most translations in 1 to 2 business days. The service is remote, run from the Portland, Oregon area, with delivery electronically or by mail.
No apostille office operates in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Department of State issues apostilles from 401 North Street in Harrisburg, by mail or walk-in, for $15 per document.
From the Register of Wills, Marriage Record Department, City Hall, Room 415. A certified copy is $25 and an exemplified copy, which the city describes as for international use, is $50.
USCIS follows 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), which requires a full English translation with the translator’s certification of accuracy and competence. The regulation does not require notarization.
The state Division of Vital Records has a public office at 110 N. 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Appointments are required and a birth certificate costs $20.
Yes. The First Judicial District’s Language Access Plan commits to language services at no cost to the court user, including certified interpreters for civil and criminal proceedings.
Sources
The local details on this page come from these official sources.
- City of Philadelphia: Find and request a marriage record
- Vital Records Public Offices
- Department of Health: Request a Birth Certificate
- 8 CFR 103.2 (eCFR)
- First Judicial District Language Access Plan
- Philadelphia Family Court Help Center
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania: Court Locations
- Pennsylvania Department of State: Document Certification
- Apostille/Certification Request Form
- Department of State: Notary Regulations Changes
- Department of State: Notario Publico, the Practice of Law and Advertising
- U.S. Department of State: consular offices in Pennsylvania
- Consulate General of Italy in Philadelphia
- Temple University: International Transfer Students
- Drexel University: Transcript Requirements for International Applicants
- City of Philadelphia Office of Immigrant Affairs Language Access Plan
- Census Reporter: Philadelphia profile (ACS)
Get your Philadelphia translation started
Upload your document for a quote, or call (971) 514-3743 and tell us where the translation is going. We confirm the level of certification you need before any work begins.