Certified Portuguese Translation Services
Português
Certified Portuguese to English translation of Brazilian and Portuguese civil records, diplomas and court documents, issued with a certificate of accuracy.
We provide certified Portuguese to English and English to Portuguese translation for documents that must be accepted by US agencies, courts, universities and licensing boards. Every translation carries a signed certificate of accuracy from a State Court Certified Translator.
Brazil and Portugal are not interchangeable
Both countries use Portuguese, and their document systems have very little else in common. A Brazilian certidão de nascimento is issued by a local cartório de registro civil — a privately operated registry office — and modern copies carry a verification code and the holder's CPF. A Portuguese record comes from a Conservatória do Registo Civil and follows a different layout entirely. Treating one as the other produces a translation that a reviewer cannot reconcile with the original.
Brazil also reissues rather than photocopies. When a Brazilian record is updated — after a marriage, a divorce, a name change — a fresh certidão is issued carrying the current state of the entry, and the averbações (annotations) recording those changes appear on it. Those annotations are frequently the exact fact a petition turns on, and they are frequently the part that gets skipped.
Surname order runs the other way from Spanish
This catches people out constantly. In Spanish-speaking countries the paternal surname comes first. In Portuguese-speaking countries it is usually the reverse: the mother's surname precedes the father's, and the last surname is the principal one. Someone named João Silva Santos is generally Mr. Santos, not Mr. Silva.
US forms expecting a single surname routinely capture the wrong half, and once that happens the name on the form no longer matches the name on the birth record. We translate names exactly as they appear and flag mismatches rather than silently normalising them.
Documents We Translate from Portuguese
- Certidão de nascimento (birth record), including all averbações recording later events.
- Certidão de casamento and certidão de óbito (marriage and death records).
- Diplomas and históricos escolares (transcripts) for credential evaluation and graduate admission.
- Certidão de antecedentes criminais (criminal record certificate).
- Carteira de identidade, CPF and passports.
- Court judgments and procurações (powers of attorney).
Tell us whether each document is Brazilian or Portuguese. It determines the format we are reading and prevents avoidable questions later.
Certification & Authentication
For USCIS, a signed certificate of accuracy is required and notarization is not — see USCIS translation.
Both Brazil and Portugal are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, so a document issued in either country can be apostilled there for use in the United States. An apostille is always issued by the country that produced the document, so we cannot apostille a Brazilian certidão from New Jersey. We can apostille US-issued documents for use in Brazil or Portugal, and produce the certified translation on either side — see apostille services.
Délai
24 hours standard, 1-3 hours available
Tarifs
$49 for the first page (up to 250 words), then $0.12 per additional word. The certificate of accuracy is included.
See full pricing detailsQuestions fréquemment posées
Do you handle both Brazilian and European Portuguese?
Yes. Tell us which country issued each document — the registry formats, issuing authorities and terminology differ substantially, and knowing up front avoids questions later.
Which of my surnames is my last name?
In Portuguese-speaking countries the maternal surname usually comes first and the paternal surname last, so the final surname is generally the principal one — the opposite of Spanish convention. We translate names exactly as they appear on the document and flag any mismatch with your US paperwork rather than silently normalising it.
Do you translate the averbações in the margin?
Yes, and it matters. Brazilian records carry later events such as marriage, divorce or name changes as annotations on the reissued certidão. Those annotations are often the specific fact a petition depends on.
How much does it cost and how fast is it?
Standard turnaround is 24 hours, at $49 for the first page (up to 250 words) then $0.12 per additional word, with the certificate of accuracy included. Faster options are +50% for 6-8 hours and +100% for 1-3 hours. Most single-page civil records fall within the first-page rate.
Related Services
Other Languages
Need a certified Portuguese translation?
Upload your document for an instant word count and price.
Get a Free Quote