Certified Translation Services for Charleston, South Carolina
Certified translation for Charleston, South Carolina is available from Apostille Authentications starting at $65 per page, and most orders are finished in 1 to 2 business days. Each translation carries a signed certificate of accuracy. We are based in Lake Oswego, near Portland, Oregon, and serve Charleston remotely. Send your document through the online quote form and the translation comes back by email or post. This page covers the local offices, schools and rules that affect translated documents in Charleston.
Upload your document below as a PDF, JPEG, PNG or Word file, or call (971) 514-3743 for a quote.
Upload Your Documents For Translation
How ordering works for Charleston customers
- Send the file. Use the quote form to upload a PDF, JPEG, PNG or Word document. Nothing needs to be mailed to us.
- Get a quote. Pricing starts at $65 per page. We tell you the total and the delivery date before work starts.
- Say what it is for. USCIS, a school, a court or use abroad each have their own requirements, so name the recipient.
- Delivery. Most jobs take 1 to 2 business days. You receive the certified translation electronically, or by mail on request.
- Contact. (971) 514-3743, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at our Oregon office. We do not have a Charleston location.
College of Charleston and MUSC transcript rules
Schools in Charleston publish specific requirements for academic records from other countries.
A credential evaluation and a translation are separate things. Evaluation agencies set their own translation rules, so check with the agency you choose before ordering.
| College of Charleston, undergraduate | Transcripts go to the college in the original language with the school’s stamp or seal. If they are not in English, certified, word-for-word English translations of all transcript pages must be submitted. |
|---|---|
| College of Charleston, transfer | International transfer students with 12 or more college credits from non-U.S. institutions need a course-by-course evaluation from an approved agency. |
| College of Charleston, graduate | Applicants from non-U.S. universities submit official transcripts plus a credential evaluation showing degree equivalency and grades on a 4.0 scale. |
| Medical University of South Carolina | Foreign academic records must be in English and certified or validated as true by a university or government official. Most programs require a professional credential evaluation, and MUSC points applicants to NACES member services. |
Charleston County records and fees
Marriage records for Charleston are kept by the Charleston County Probate Court. Its published fee schedule lists $70.00 for a marriage license and $5.00 for a certified copy of a marriage license. The court’s instructions note a twenty-four hour wait between application and pickup and no residency requirement.
Birth and death certificates are issued by the S.C. Department of Public Health, which charges a $12 search fee per record that includes one certified copy. Mail requests go to the Vital Records Section, P.O. Box 2046, West Columbia, SC 29171. According to the Secretary of State, divorce decrees can come from the county clerk of court or the state vital records office.
If the record is going overseas, get a certified copy first. The state does not authenticate photocopies of vital records.
Getting an apostille when you live in Charleston
South Carolina has one apostille office, and it is in Columbia, not Charleston. The Secretary of State accepts requests by mail or in person at 1205 Pendleton Street, Suite 525, Columbia, SC 29201.
When your translation is part of an apostille packet, we hire a notary commissioned in South Carolina to notarize the translator’s statement, because the Secretary of State authenticates South Carolina notarizations.
- Cost. $5.00 per document, payable to South Carolina Secretary of State.
- Paperwork. The Authentication Cover Letter, with the destination country filled in.
- Return. Mail requests need a self-addressed envelope with prepaid postage.
- Translations. The office requires an English translation signed by the translator, with the translator’s signature notarized.
Federal court and immigration filings in Charleston
The U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina has two Charleston buildings: the J. Waties Waring Judicial Center at 83 Meeting Street and the U.S. District Courthouse at 85 Broad Street, both Charleston, SC 29401. Visitors need government-issued photo ID.
USCIS lists a Charleston Field Office and an Application Support Center on uscis.gov; confirm the current address on your appointment notice. Whatever office handles your case, 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) requires a full English translation of each foreign-language document, certified by the translator as complete and accurate, with a statement that the translator is competent to translate. Our certificate covers those points. No translation company can guarantee how an agency will rule on a filing.
In state civil cases, South Carolina Code Section 15-27-155 allows the court to appoint a qualified interpreter for a party or witness who cannot speak English sufficiently.
Languages in Charleston
Census Bureau QuickFacts estimates the City of Charleston’s population at 159,423 on July 1, 2025. In the 2020 to 2024 period, 7.8 percent of people age 5 and older spoke a language other than English at home, and 6.0 percent of residents were foreign born.
Charleston County School District runs an Office of Translation and Interpretation Services, which gives parents and guardians of multilingual learners school information free of charge in a language they understand. That service is for school communication. For personal documents such as birth certificates, diplomas or court papers, you arrange translation yourself. We handle 100 languages, most often Spanish, Russian, Hindi, Urdu, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic and Czech. Ask if yours is not listed.
Related services for Charleston
- South Carolina document translation services: the statewide rules for courts, notaries, vital records and driver licensing
- South Carolina apostille service
- All document translation services
Charleston translation questions
Apostille Authentications charges from $65 per page for certified translation ordered from Charleston, South Carolina. Most are ready in 1 to 2 business days and delivered electronically or by mail.
No, South Carolina apostilles are issued only by the Secretary of State in Columbia at 1205 Pendleton Street, Suite 525. Charleston residents can mail documents there with the cover letter and the $5.00 per document fee, or go in person.
Yes. The College of Charleston asks international undergraduate applicants for transcripts in the original language plus certified, word-for-word English translations of every page not in English.
The Charleston County Probate Court lists a $5.00 fee for a certified copy of a marriage license. The S.C. Department of Public Health also issues marriage records for a $12 search fee.
The U.S. District Court uses the J. Waties Waring Judicial Center at 83 Meeting Street and the U.S. District Courthouse at 85 Broad Street, Charleston, SC 29401.
The federal rule, 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), requires a complete English translation with the translator’s certification of accuracy and competence. It does not mention notarization.
Sources
The local details on this page come from these official sources.
- College of Charleston: International Admission
- College of Charleston Graduate School: International Students
- MUSC: International Applicants
- Charleston County Probate Court: Fee Schedule
- Charleston County Probate Court: Marriage License Instructions
- SC Secretary of State: Apostilles
- SC Secretary of State: Authentication Cover Letter
- SC Secretary of State: Certification of Vital Records
- S.C. Department of Public Health: Vital Records Fees
- U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina: Court Locations
- South Carolina Code Title 15, Chapter 27
- Charleston County School District: OTIS
- Census Bureau QuickFacts: Charleston city, South Carolina
- 8 CFR 103.2 (eCFR)
Get your Charleston 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.