Certified Translation Services for New York City
Apostille Authentications translates and certifies documents for people in New York City from $65 per page, with most jobs ready in 1 to 2 business days. We do not have a New York office. The work is done remotely from Lake Oswego, in the Portland, Oregon area: you upload a file, and the translation comes back with a signed certificate of accuracy electronically or by mail. Below are the city offices, courts and rules that usually decide what your translation needs.
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 New York City residents order
Upload a PDF, JPEG, PNG or Word file through the quote form and tell us who will receive the translation: USCIS, a court, a school, a consulate or an authority abroad. Say whether the translator’s statement must be notarized or the document needs an apostille. We confirm the price and send the certified translation electronically or by mail. You can reach us at (971) 514-3743 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
For immigration filings, 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) requires a full English translation that the translator certifies as complete and accurate, along with a certification of the translator’s competence. Our certificate of accuracy is written to that rule. Acceptance is always decided by the receiving agency.
NYC birth, death and marriage records are a special case
Records of events in the five boroughs are not held by the State Department of Health. They come from city offices, and that changes the apostille chain.
- Birth and death certificates. Issued by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Office of Vital Records, 125 Worth Street, Room 119, New York, NY 10013. The fee is $15 per certificate plus any processing fee. In-person orders require an appointment, and online orders go through VitalChek. Births before 1910 are handled by the Department of Records and Information Services.
- For an apostille. Order the long form certificate with a Letter of Exemplification. The Health Department and the state both say this is required before the next steps.
- Marriage records. Issued by the Office of the City Clerk, 141 Worth Street, New York, NY 10013. The City Clerk’s FAQ lists a short certificate at $15 and an extended certificate for foreign use at $35, and says the extended certificate is the one needed for an apostille.
The apostille route from New York City
After you have the right city record, two more offices are involved, both in Lower Manhattan.
| Step 1: New York County Clerk | 60 Centre Street, Room 141B, New York, NY 10007. Authenticates the city record or a notary’s signature for $3 per document. The clerk does not forward documents to the state. |
|---|---|
| Step 2: NYS Department of State | 123 William Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10038. Walk-in hours are posted as 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. The apostille fee is $10 per document, with a same-day limit of 10 documents per customer. |
| By mail instead | Apostille and Authentication Unit, PO Box 22001, Albany, NY 12201-2001, with form DOS-1917 and a prepaid return envelope. |
Notarized translations and the notary's county
A notarized document needs County Clerk certification of the notary’s signature before the Department of State will act, and the certifying clerk is the one in the county where the notary is qualified. In the city, that could be New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx or Richmond County.
When a translation has to be notarized for New York, for example for a New York apostille, we hire a notary commissioned in New York to notarize the translator’s statement.
New York law also limits how non-attorney notaries advertise in other languages. Under Executive Law section 135-b, they may not use terms that imply they are attorneys and must state that they cannot give legal advice about immigration or any other legal matter.
Courts in Manhattan and translated filings
CPLR 2101(b) requires an English translation and a translator’s affidavit of qualifications and accuracy for any foreign-language affidavit or exhibit filed in state court. The court system supplies free interpreters for hearings in more than 100 languages a year, but written exhibits are for the parties to translate.
| Supreme Court, Civil Term | 60 Centre Street |
|---|---|
| Surrogate’s Court | 31 Chambers Street |
| Family Court | 60 Lafayette Street |
| Civil Court | 111 Centre Street |
| US District Court, Southern District | Daniel Patrick Moynihan US Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street |
Consulates and universities
The Mayor’s Office for International Affairs counts 116 consulates in New York City. Each one sets its own rules for translated civil documents, and some require an apostille or their own legalization, so ask the consulate before ordering. If your foreign driver license is not in English, the state DMV asks for an International Driving Permit or a translation certified by a consulate, the US Department of State or another government agency.
Schools publish their own policies. NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, for example, requires both the official transcript and its English translation, and directs applicants to obtain a certified translation if the institution does not issue one in English.
Languages spoken in New York City
Census Bureau ACS 2024 one-year estimates, as published by Census Reporter, show 48.3 percent of city residents speak a language other than English at home and 36.7 percent were born outside the United States. A Department of City Planning table based on the 2018 ACS ranks Spanish first among non-English home languages, followed by Chinese, Russian and Bengali.
Local Law 30 requires city agencies to translate commonly distributed documents into 10 designated languages: Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Bengali, Haitian Creole, Korean, Arabic, Urdu, French and Polish. Of our 100 languages, the most requested are Spanish, Russian, Hindi, Urdu, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic and Czech. Ask us about others.
Related services for New York City
- New York document translation services: the statewide rules for courts, notaries, vital records and driver licensing
- New York apostille service
- All document translation services
New York City translation questions
Order the long form birth certificate with a Letter of Exemplification from the NYC Health Department, have it authenticated by the New York County Clerk at 60 Centre Street for $3, then submit it to the New York Department of State, which charges $10 per document.
The New York Department of State’s walk-in office is at 123 William Street, 2nd Floor, in Manhattan. It limits same-day service to 10 documents per customer.
The Office of the City Clerk says the extended certificate, listed at $35, is the one required for an apostille. It must go to the County Clerk for authentication and then to the Department of State.
Yes. Under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), every foreign-language document filed with USCIS needs a full English translation certified by the translator as complete and accurate, with a certification of the translator’s competence.
The courts provide free interpreters for proceedings, but CPLR 2101(b) puts the duty on the filing party to attach an English translation and a translator’s affidavit to any foreign-language affidavit or exhibit.
Apostille Authentications charges from $65 per page, and most translations are ready in 1 to 2 business days. The service is remote, run from the Portland, Oregon area, with electronic or mail delivery.
Sources
The local details on this page come from these official sources.
- NYC Health: Birth certificates
- New York County Clerk: Notary and authentication
- Office of the City Clerk: Marriage Bureau FAQ
- New York Department of State: Apostille or Certificate of Authentication
- DOS-1917 Apostille/Certificate of Authentication Request
- 8 CFR 103.2 (eCFR)
- CPLR 2101, Form of papers
- Executive Law 135-b, notary advertising
- NY Courts: 1st Judicial District (New York County)
- US District Court, Southern District of New York: 500 Pearl Street
- NY Courts: Language help (interpreters)
- NYC Mayor’s Office for International Affairs
- NYC Language Access Plan and Local Law 30
- NY DMV: Drivers from other countries
- NYU Wagner: Transcripts not in English
- Census Reporter: New York city profile (ACS 2024)
- NYC Department of City Planning: Top languages spoken at home (2018 ACS)
Get your New York City 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.