Certified translations prepared in the exact form a notary public needs, in 326 languages.
A notarized translation is a certified translation whose signed certification has been sealed by a notary public. USCIS does not require notarization; a certified translation is enough. When an agency does require it, Prism Linguistics prepares the certified translation in the exact form a notary public needs, in 326 languages, from around $24.95 per page.
Last reviewed August 24, 2026 by the Prism Linguistics editorial team
The honest version of this page in one paragraph: most people who search for a notarized translation actually need a certified translation, because that is what USCIS, universities, and most US institutions ask for. When notarization genuinely is required, the division of labor is clean: we translate and certify; a notary public you choose seals the signature. We do not offer notary or apostille services, and we will tell you plainly when you do not need them.
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.
The two terms get used interchangeably, and they should not be. A certified translation is about accuracy: the translator signs a Certificate of Translation Accuracy stating the translation is complete and correct. A notarized translation is about identity: a notary public confirms who signed a statement, in their presence, and adds a seal. The notary does not read the translation and could not tell you if it were wrong. Certification vouches for the words; notarization vouches for the signature.
| Question | Certified translation | Notarized translation |
|---|---|---|
| What it proves | The translation is complete and accurate, per the signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy | The identity of the person who signed a statement, witnessed and sealed by a notary public |
| Who checks the translation | The translator, plus a second linguist review | Nobody new; the notary verifies a signature, not the wording |
| Who typically asks for it | USCIS, universities, credential evaluators, most courts and employers | Some state agencies and court clerks, apostille chains, some foreign authorities |
| Who performs it | Prism Linguistics, included with every certified order | A commissioned notary public chosen by you; not a translation company service |
| Typical cost | From around $24.95 per page as a US market guide | The certified translation cost plus the notary's own fee, usually small and paid to the notary |
One consequence worth underlining: a notarized translation is not a higher grade of translation. It is the same certified translation with an identity check stapled to it. If nobody has required a notary in writing, you almost certainly want the certified version and nothing more.
Less often than the search results suggest. Requirements are set by the receiving institution, not by any general rule, and they vary state by state and office by office. The situations where notarization genuinely comes up:
The rule that never fails: check with the receiving institution before you pay anyone. Ask two questions in writing. Is a certified translation sufficient? If not, whose signature needs notarizing? Bring those answers to us and the rest is straightforward. Deadline tight? Our same-day translation service can sometimes handle short standard documents, subject to capacity.
This deserves its own heading because it is the single most expensive misunderstanding in this corner of the industry. The USCIS regulation, 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), asks for a full English translation together with a certification from the translator that the translation is complete and accurate and that the translator is competent to translate. That is a certified translation. The word notary appears nowhere in the requirement.
Years ago, USCIS forms did reference notarized translations, and the ghost of that old wording still haunts checklists, forums, and the advice of well-meaning relatives. Some sellers are happy to leave the confusion in place, since a notarized translation sounds more official and costs more. Our position is simpler: for a green card, naturalization, or asylum filing, buy the certified translation and save the notary fee. Everything USCIS-related lives on our immigration document translation page.
The same usually goes for universities, credential evaluators such as WES and ECE, and employers: the signed certification is what they check for. Acceptance ultimately depends on the receiving institution, which is why we keep telling you to ask them first.
Two jobs, two professionals. We handle the translation and certification; a commissioned notary public handles the notarization.
Ask the receiving institution in writing what they need: a certified translation, or a certified translation with a notarized signature on it. Send us a scan of the document through the quote form with that answer, and we reply with a fixed price within 60 minutes during business hours.
A professionally qualified translator produces a complete, word-for-word translation, a second linguist reviews it, and we deliver it with a signed and dated Certificate of Translation Accuracy on company letterhead, formatted so a notarial certificate can be attached.
The notary verifies the identity of the person signing a statement in their presence and seals it; the notary does not review the translation. Practice varies: some receiving bodies accept the client swearing a short statement over the translation packet, others direct exactly whose signature the notarial certificate covers. Banks, UPS stores, and state-authorized online notary platforms all perform notarizations, and if your notary needs specific wording from us, we supply it.
File the notarized packet with the receiving agency. If the document is going abroad, the notarized document can then go to your Secretary of State for the apostille; we prepare the translation ready for that application.
If your document is leaving the United States, notarization is usually not the destination but the first link in a chain. Authorities in Hague Convention countries ask for an apostille, a certificate from your state's Secretary of State that authenticates the notary's signature and commission, so a registrar in Italy or a bank in Brazil can rely on US paperwork without further checks. The order matters: certified translation first, then the notary, then the apostille. We prepare the certified translation ready for your apostille application; the apostille itself is issued by the state. The full picture is on our apostille translation page.
The pattern is consistent: personal records feeding a state-level or international process. Birth certificates for dual-citizenship applications through a consulate. Marriage certificates for registering a wedding abroad. Diplomas for foreign licensing boards, powers of attorney for a property closing in another country, divorce decrees, police clearance letters. Each starts as a routine certified translation; the notary and apostille steps get added only when the destination demands them. We translate and certify all of them in 326 languages, and the translation stage is fully digital, so a client in Miami or Houston orders exactly the way one in Manhattan does.
Two bills, two payees, and it helps to keep them apart. The translation is priced as certified work: as a guide, from around $24.95 per page in the US market for standard documents such as certificates, with the signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy included at no extra charge. Longer, handwritten, or rare-language documents cost more, and your quote confirms the exact price before anything starts.
The notary's fee is the notary's, paid directly to them, and it is usually the small half of the equation. Many states cap notary fees at a few dollars per notarial act; banks often notarize free for their own customers; remote online notarization typically runs about $25. Watch for bundles that fold a large "notarization fee" into the translation price. Full detail on how translation pricing works, including per-word and per-page models, is on our pricing page.
The questions we answer most often, including the one most sellers avoid.
Send a scan and tell us who is asking for the document. We will tell you straight if a certified translation covers it, and prepare it notary-ready if it does not.
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