Certified translation of apostilled documents, apostille certificate included, in 326 languages.
Apostille translation means certified translation of documents that carry, or will carry, an apostille. Prism Linguistics translates apostilled foreign documents, apostille certificate included, into English for US use, and translates apostilled US documents into the destination language, in 326 languages. We do not obtain apostilles; those come from the Secretary of State or US Department of State.
Last reviewed August 24, 2026 by the Prism Linguistics editorial team
Apostille jobs run in two directions. A Colombian birth certificate apostilled in Bogota needs a certified English translation before USCIS or a county clerk will act on it. A Texas power of attorney headed to Spain needs its apostille from the Texas Secretary of State, then a Spanish translation of the whole package. We handle the translation side of both, as part of our certified translation services.
Send a scan through the quote form or call +1 (833) 282 8883; you will have a fixed price within 60 minutes during business hours.
An apostille is a one-page certificate, attached by a government authority, that authenticates the signature and seal on a public document. It exists because of the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, a treaty joined by more than 120 countries. The deal is simple: once a member country attaches an apostille, every other member must accept the document as genuine, with no embassy legalization and no further proof of who signed it. A registrar in Madrid can rely on a Texas notary's seal because the Texas Secretary of State has vouched for it.
One thing an apostille never does is translate anything. It authenticates the original document in whatever language that document was written. The translation is a separate task, and it is the task this page is about.
It depends on who issued the underlying document. State documents, which cover birth and marriage certificates, notarized papers, school records, and state court documents, get their apostille from the Secretary of State of the issuing state. Federal documents, such as FBI background checks and federal court records, are apostilled by the US Department of State in Washington DC. Each office charges its own fee, paid to that office directly.
To be plain about our role: Prism Linguistics does not obtain or arrange apostilles. You, your attorney, or a courier service you choose deals with the Secretary of State or the Department of State. What we do is translate, and certify the translation, so the package is ready before the apostille step or complete after it. In our experience the government step is straightforward; most states process mailed apostille requests in days for a modest fee, and their websites explain exactly what to send.
The most common request: a document was apostilled abroad, and a US institution now wants it in English. USCIS, courts, universities, and state agencies all expect a complete, word-for-word English translation with a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy. That means every element gets translated, including the apostille certificate stapled to the back, its issuing authority, its registration number, the stamps, the seals, all of it.
Worth knowing before you spend money: USCIS itself rarely asks for apostilles on foreign civil documents. It asks for the certified English translation. So if your document already carries an apostille, good, we translate it as part of the package; if it does not, check whether the receiving office actually wants one before chasing a certificate abroad.
Going the other way, sequence is everything, and here is the rule of thumb: apostille first, translation second. The apostille authenticates signatures that already exist on the document. If you translate before the apostille is issued, the certificate added afterward sits outside your translation — and the receiving country will usually bounce the package or make you pay for a second pass.
The practical order for a US document headed abroad: finalize the document (and have it notarized if the state requires that), send it to the Secretary of State or US Department of State for the apostille, then send us the complete apostilled package for translation into the destination language. One translation then covers the document and its apostille together, certified as a single unit.
There are exceptions. A few authorities want the translation bound in before legalization, and some want both versions apostilled. When the receiving country's instructions read that way, follow them; we will happily look at the requirement with you at quote stage rather than guess.
Yes, always. The apostille is part of the document chain, not packaging. Its standard ten-field form names the country, the signer, the authority, and the registration details, and the receiving institution needs those fields in its own language just as much as the birth date or the notary clause. An untranslated apostille page is one of the most common reasons an otherwise perfect submission gets sent back, which is a slow and annoying way to learn a one-page lesson.
Three different stamps, three different jobs. Certification is the translation company's own signed accuracy statement. Notarization adds a notary public's verification of the signer's identity. An apostille authenticates a government or notary signature for use in another Hague Convention country. They stack, and a receiving authority may ask for one, two, or all three.
| Certified translation | Notarized translation | Apostille | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it verifies | The translation is complete and accurate | The identity of the person who signed the certification | The authenticity of an official's or notary's signature and seal |
| Who provides it | The translator or translation company | A notary public | The Secretary of State (state documents) or US Department of State (federal) |
| When it is asked for | USCIS, courts, universities, most US institutions | Some state agencies, consulates, and apostille offices | Documents crossing borders between Hague Convention countries |
| Prism's role | We produce and sign it | We prepare the certified translation in the form the notary needs | We translate the document and the apostille; the government office issues it |
The full detail on each level lives on our certified translation and notarized translation pages.
The pattern behind almost every apostille job is a life event or a legal act crossing a border. The documents we see most:
If your document is not on the list, send it anyway. The service is the same: translate everything, certify it, deliver it ready for the next step in the chain.
Some destination countries, Spain, Italy, Brazil, and much of continental Europe among them, maintain registers of court-appointed sworn translators, and certain authorities there accept only a sworn translator's stamp. The United States has no such register; a US certified translation with an apostilled original is the standard package from this side, and it is accepted in many cases.
But not all cases, and requirements vary by country and even by office. Before you order, ask the receiving authority one question: will you accept a US certified translation of an apostilled document, or do you require a locally sworn translator? If the answer is the latter, our translation can still serve as the working draft, but the local stamp has to come from the local professional. We would rather tell you that up front than sell you paperwork the destination will not take.
Four steps, and the sequencing advice is built into the first one.
Upload a clear scan through our quote form or email it to info@prismlinguistics.com, and tell us if the document is coming into the US or going abroad, and which authority will receive it. If a US document still needs its apostille, obtain the apostille first and send us the complete package, so the translation covers everything.
We reply within 60 minutes during business hours with a fixed price and turnaround. Nothing starts until you approve it.
A professionally qualified translator renders the document and its apostille certificate in full, a second linguist reviews the work, and we attach a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy.
You get a signed PDF by email, usually within 24 to 48 hours for short documents, with a wet-ink hard copy by USPS or FedEx on request. The package is then ready for the receiving authority, or for any sworn-translation step the destination country adds locally.
A single apostilled certificate, apostille page included, is usually translated and certified within 24 to 48 hours of quote approval. Same-day delivery is sometimes possible for short documents, subject to capacity; tell us the deadline and we confirm before you commit. Longer packages, a corporate file or a court record, take a few business days.
On price: as a guide, certified translation in the US market starts at around $24.95 per page, and an apostilled certificate typically means the document page plus the apostille page. The government's apostille fee is separate and goes to the Secretary of State or the US Department of State. Treat these figures as market guidance; your quote confirms the exact translation price, and the fuller picture is on our pricing page.
The questions clients ask before an apostille job starts.
Send a scan, tell us where it is going, and you will have a fixed price and turnaround within 60 minutes during business hours.
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