Personal identification documents prove who a person is and where they may live, work, or drive. They include national ID cards, residence permits, driver's licenses, and similar cards issued by a ministry, a police authority, or a licensing office.
Authorities that do not read the source language usually ask for a translation before they accept the document. Typical cases are a spousal or work visa, a residence registration, a driver's license exchange, or a bank's customer due diligence check.
A certified translation reproduces every field on the card, front and back, including the machine-readable zone, stamps, and the issuing authority. Field labels, ID numbers, dates, and categories such as driver's license classes are kept exactly as printed, and security features such as holograms are described in brackets.
Names on IDs need special care. Where the source uses Arabic, Cyrillic, Chinese, Greek, or another script, we follow the Latin spelling in the holder's passport, so the translation matches the person's other filings. Without a passport spelling, we apply the transliteration standard the receiving office names or one that fits the language.
Each certified translation includes a signed Certificate of Accuracy, and USCIS, embassies, courts, and government agencies decide what they accept. Our professional translation services also cover the supporting records that go with an ID, such as birth certificates and marriage records, and our translation agency can quote the whole set as one project.
Appointments at an embassy or consulate, whether a US one or that of a European country, can be supported by our expert interpreting services. Identity documents are sensitive, so only the linguists assigned to your project see the scans.
Individuals who submit foreign IDs to USCIS, a consulate, or a European immigration office such as a German Ausländerbehörde need a translation the officer can read. The translation should match the spelling used on the passport and the rest of the filing.
Drivers who move abroad often exchange a foreign license or need a translation for car rental or insurance. Licensing offices decide whether they need a translation and in what form.
Banks and other regulated firms run know-your-customer checks on customers who present foreign IDs. A translation lets the compliance officer record the card details accurately.
HR teams onboarding staff from abroad must check identity and work-authorization documents. A translation lets them read the card details without relying on the employee's own summary.
Send a clear scan of the original ID document, both sides, at full size. Tell us which office will receive the translation so we can match its format.
A native legal translator produces the translation and prepares a signed certificate of accuracy. Every field, stamp, and printed note is accounted for, including the machine-readable zone.
ID numbers, dates, names, and the issuing authority are cross-checked against the source. Name spelling is compared with your passport so the filings agree.
You receive the translation and certificate as a signed PDF, with a paper original by post if the receiving office wants one. Anything unreadable on the scan is marked as illegible, not guessed.
Identity documents are handled by immigration, licensing, and registry offices that each set their own rules. We confirm the format with the receiving office, and the office decides what it accepts.
USCIS asks for a complete English translation with a signed certification of accuracy for foreign-language documents. State motor vehicle offices set their own rules for foreign driver's licenses, and some require an official or notarized translation.
The immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) and the driver licensing authority (Fahrerlaubnisbehörde) may ask for a German translation of a foreign ID or driver's license, sometimes by a sworn translator (beeidigter or ermächtigter Übersetzer). The office decides what form it needs.
The immigration office (Oficina de Extranjería) and the traffic authority (Dirección General de Tráfico, DGT) deal with residence and driver's license matters. They may ask for a Spanish translation, sometimes by a traductor jurado, and the office decides which form it accepts.
The Questura handles residence permits (permesso di soggiorno), and the Motorizzazione Civile handles driver's license conversion. Both can ask for an Italian translation certified by a consulate or sworn before a court, depending on the case.
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We prepare each translation as USCIS asks: a complete English translation with a signed certificate of accuracy stating that the translator is competent in both languages and that the translation is accurate.
USCIS does not approve translation vendors, and the receiving officer decides acceptance on the filing as a whole.
Most ID documents are short and deliver within 1 to 2 business days. Faster delivery can be arranged case by case for urgent cases.
Yes. We translate IDs in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Cyrillic, Hebrew, Thai, Hindi, and other scripts. Names follow the Latin spelling in the holder's passport where one exists, and otherwise the transliteration standard that the receiving office asks for.
Yes. We translate every field on the front and back, including the machine-readable zone, and describe stamps, holograms, and photographs in brackets. Please send scans of both sides at full size.
It depends on the receiving authority. An apostille, where one is required, is issued by the competent authority of the country that issued the document, not by the translator.
Ask the receiving office what it needs before you arrange one.
Identity documents contain sensitive personal data. Only the linguists assigned to your project see your scans, and we keep personal data confidential and use it only to deliver your translation.
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