US Documents for Working Abroad: Apostille and Translation

The usual order of steps

1. Get the right original. A recent certified copy of a birth or marriage certificate, a diploma (often with a transcript), a police or FBI check.
2. Authenticate it. State documents get an apostille from the issuing state's Secretary of State (for Hague countries) or go through legalisation (for others). Federal documents go to the US Department of State.
3. Translate it, including the apostille, into the destination's language, by a translator the destination accepts.

The order matters: an apostille certifies the US signature and seal on the document, so it goes on the document first, and the translation then covers the document and the apostille together. In some countries the translation itself must be done there by a local sworn translator.

Who may translate depends on the country

Many countries accept a translation made in the US with a certificate of accuracy, sometimes notarized and apostilled as well. Others require a translator appointed in their own system: a traductor jurado in Spain, a traducteur assermenté attached to a court of appeal in France, a court-sworn translator in Germany, a sworn translator in Poland or Brazil. If the employer or authority asks for a "sworn translation", it usually means one of those, and a US translation will not do. Ask the receiving office before ordering. We will handle the US side (state apostille, an English copy, a working translation so you know what you are submitting) and tell you plainly when the final translation has to be made abroad.

Documents commonly needed

• Diplomas and transcripts for work permits and professional recognition.
• Police checks: a state check, or an FBI Identity History Summary.
• Birth and marriage certificates for family visas and residence registration.
• Employment and reference letters, on letterhead, signed.

Federal documents

An FBI background check is a federal document, so its apostille comes from the US Department of State, not a state. We do not process federal apostilles. We can translate the FBI check and its apostille once you have them.

Professional recognition abroad

Doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers and lawyers moving abroad often need their US qualifications recognised by a foreign professional body. Those bodies usually want detailed transcripts, course descriptions, licence verifications and letters of good standing, all authenticated and translated. Start early: recognition procedures can take months, and each body publishes its own document list.