Certified Translation Services for Tacoma and Pierce County

Tacoma residents can order certified translation from Apostille Authentications starting at $65 per page, with most jobs returned in 1 to 2 business days. We are based in Lake Oswego, Oregon, near Portland, and serve Tacoma remotely, with no Washington office: documents come in through the quote form and go back to you electronically or by mail. Each translation carries a signed certificate of accuracy, and the translator’s statement can be notarized. We work in 100 languages.

Upload your document below as a PDF, JPEG, PNG or Word file, or call (971) 514-3743 for a quote.

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Ordering from Tacoma, step by step

1. Upload. Send a clear scan or phone photo of each page through the quote form. PDF, JPEG, PNG and Word files are accepted.
2. Tell us the destination. Name the office that will receive the translation, for example a university registrar, a court or a foreign authority, and say whether you need the translator’s statement notarized.
3. Confirm. We reply with the price, from $65 per page, and the completion date. Most translations take 1 to 2 business days.
4. Receive. The certified translation is emailed or mailed to your Tacoma address. Phone (971) 514-3743, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., for questions.

Pierce County offices that issue the records people translate

Two different offices hold Tacoma’s vital and marriage records, and each publishes its own fees.

Birth and death certificates	Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, 3629 S. D St., Tacoma, WA 98418. Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (opens 9:30 a.m. on the last Tuesday of the month). Walk-ins need no appointment.
Years covered	Birth certificates from 1907 to the present; death certificates for Tacoma from 1907 and for Pierce County from 1926.
Health department fees	$25 certificate fee per record. Published base totals: $33 by mail, $39 walk-in, $48.50 online through VitalChek.
Marriage certificates	Pierce County Auditor, 2401 S. 35th St., Room 200, Tacoma, WA 98409. Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Certified copies are $3 each and can be requested online, by mail or in person.
Auditor contact	(253) 798-3649

What Tacoma universities ask for with foreign transcripts

Policies differ between the three largest campuses, so read the one that applies to you before ordering.

UW Tacoma. Applicants with coursework from outside the U.S. must send official transcripts with a word-for-word English translation if the transcript is not in English. The university reserves the right to require a course-by-course evaluation from AACRAO or a NACES-approved service.
Pacific Lutheran University. PLU’s international admission page says official transcripts must be translated to English. For transfer credit, international transcripts must also go through a credential evaluation by an organization on the AICE or NACES list, and the official report is sent directly to PLU.
Tacoma Community College. TCC’s international admission page lists a high school or college transcript and a bank statement among required documents but does not publish a translation rule. Ask its International Admissions office at 253-566-5190.

Languages spoken in Tacoma and Pierce County

According to Census Bureau QuickFacts, 18.7% of Tacoma residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, and 12.6% of residents are foreign born (2020 to 2024).

A Pierce County interpreter study lists the languages its courts encounter most often, in order: Spanish, Russian, Korean, American Sign Language, Vietnamese, Cambodian (Khmer), Samoan, Punjabi, Somali and Chinese. The same study reports that the county’s emergency management department identified Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, Khmer, Korean, Samoan, Tagalog and Ukrainian as languages meeting federal thresholds. The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has translated outreach materials into Spanish, Vietnamese, Khmer and Korean.

Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese and Chinese are among our most requested languages. For Khmer, Samoan or Somali, send the document and we will confirm availability with the quote.

Pierce County Superior Court: interpreters are not translators

Pierce County Superior Court sits in the County-City Building at 930 Tacoma Avenue South, Tacoma, WA 98402. The county’s Interpreter Services Office is in Room 247, phone (253) 798-6091, and serves Superior, District and Juvenile Courts.

The office asks for 3 to 5 business days’ notice and notes that interpreters are paid at government expense for limited English proficient and deaf or hard of hearing persons in court proceedings. It also draws a line that matters for paperwork: interpreting converts speech, translation converts text. A written translation of a document you want to file is a separate matter, so confirm with the clerk or your lawyer what the court will need.

From Tacoma to a Washington apostille

Tacoma has no apostille counter. The Washington Secretary of State handles requests by mail at Corporations and Charities Division, PO Box 40234, Olympia, WA 98504-0234, or in person at 243 Israel Rd SE, Tumwater, WA 98501, open Monday to Thursday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Couriers such as UPS and FedEx must use the Tumwater street address.

The fee is $15.00 per document, with standard processing typically 7 to 10 business days from receipt. Expedited handling adds $100 per 10 documents and typically takes 2 to 3 business days. Same-day service in person adds $150 for the first 10 documents and may be limited by cutoff times.

Send the state’s apostille request form with an original or certified copy. For a birth certificate, that means a certified copy such as one from the health department on South D Street. Personal documents must be notarized by a Washington state notary. We can help you work out which documents need an apostille and prepare the translation that goes with them.

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Tacoma translation questions

Who does certified translation in Tacoma, WA?

Apostille Authentications serves Tacoma remotely from the Portland, Oregon area. You upload your document through the quote form and receive a certified translation with a signed certificate of accuracy electronically or by mail.

How much is a certified translation in Tacoma and how long does it take?

Certified translation from Apostille Authentications starts at $65 per page. Most translations are ready in 1 to 2 business days.

Where do I get a certified birth certificate in Tacoma?

The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department at 3629 S. D St. issues birth certificates from 1907 to the present. The certificate fee is $25 per record, with published totals of $33 by mail, $39 walk-in and $48.50 online.

Does UW Tacoma require transcripts to be translated into English?

Yes. UW Tacoma asks for official transcripts along with a word-for-word English translation if the transcript is not in English, and it may require a course-by-course evaluation from AACRAO or a NACES-approved service.

How do I get an apostille if I live in Tacoma?

Mail the request form, document and $15.00 per document fee to the Washington Secretary of State at PO Box 40234, Olympia, WA 98504-0234, or go in person to 243 Israel Rd SE in Tumwater. Same-day in-person service costs an additional $150 for the first 10 documents.

Will Pierce County Superior Court translate my documents?

The Pierce County Interpreter Services Office provides interpreters for court proceedings and distinguishes interpreting speech from translating text. Ask the clerk or your attorney what written translation the court expects for documents you file.