Process and Template for Certified English Translation of Chinese Marriage Certificates

Many USCIS applications require a certified English translation of a Chinese marriage certificate. Many people are intimidated by the word "certification," but the process is actually simple: you can do the English translation yourself and have a friend in the United States who knows both Chinese and English sign it to confirm that the translation is accurate. Below is a template I translated, which is the version I used when I submitted my I-485 years ago.

My Certified English Translation of Marriage Certificate

• Complete the translation, print the formatted Chinese and English text along with the translator's certification on A4 white paper, leaving the upper half blank.

• Place the marriage certificate in the blank area and scan together into a PDF; set the resolution to 300 DPI or higher.

• Print the PDF again. Now the upper half is the marriage certificate, and the lower half is the Chinese text, English translation, and translator's certification.

• Ask a friend who knows Chinese and English to review it, sign to confirm the translation is accurate, and you're done.

Below is the document submitted to USCIS. Because it is a personal document, I have redacted a lot of information and added a watermark.

Marriage Certificate English Translation - Page 1 of the Document

Marriage Certificate English Translation - Page 2 of the Document

Marriage Certificate English Translation - Page 3 of the Document

Marriage Certificate English Translation - Page 4 of the Document

English Translation Text of Chinese Marriage Certificate

There are several different English translation versions circulating online; below is my translation.

Page 1 (Cover)

People’s Republic of China Marriage Certificate

CERTIFICATION BY TRANSLATOR This is to certify that I am competent to translate from Chinese into English, and the above translation is accurate.

Signature: Date: Printed Name: Address:

Page 2

中华人民共和国民政部 结婚证 中华人民共和国民政部监制 (Seal) The Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China Produced by the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China

Marriage application conforms to the Marriage Law of the People’s Republic of China, registration is granted. This certificate is issued. Registry Office: xxx Civil Affairs Bureau Special Seal for Marriage Registration Marriage Registry Officer

This application for marriage conforms to the Marriage Law of the People’s Republic of China. Marriage registration is hereby granted. Certificate is hereby issued.

Registry Office: (Marriage Registration Seal) Civil Affairs Administration of xxx Marriage Registry Officer /s/ Signature

CERTIFICATION BY TRANSLATOR This is to certify that I am competent to translate from Chinese into English, and the above translation is accurate.

Signature: Date: Printed Name: Address:

Page 3

持证人 Certificate Holder: 登记日期 Issue Date: 结婚证字号 Certificate No.: 备注 Remarks:

姓名 Name: 性别 Gender: 国籍 Nationality: 出生日期 D.O.B.: 身份证件号 ID No.

姓名 Name: 性别 Gender: 国籍 Nationality: 出生日期 D.O.B.: 身份证件号 ID No.

CERTIFICATION BY TRANSLATOR This is to certify that I am competent to translate from Chinese into English, and the above translation is accurate.

Signature: Date: Printed Name: Address:

Page 4

婚姻法规定，要求结婚的男女双方必须亲自到婚姻登记机关进行结婚登记。符合本法规定的，予以登记，发给结婚证。取得结婚证，即确立夫妻关系。 No.

Marriage Law stipulates that both the male and female parties intending to marry must appear in person at the registry office for marriage registration. If the application conforms to the law, registration shall be granted, and a marriage certificate shall be issued. The issuance of the marriage certificate establishes the status of husband and wife. No.

CERTIFICATION BY TRANSLATOR This is to certify that I am competent to translate from Chinese into English, and the above translation is accurate.

Signature: Date: Printed Name: Address:

Download English Translation Template

I have saved the above template in my Google account; you can access it yourself:

• If you do not have a Google account, please click this link. You can preview and manually select content to copy, but you will not be able to edit. No need to request edit permission—I will not grant it. First, I cannot guarantee everyone will use it responsibly; second, it may leak personal information you forgot to delete. Either print directly, download (can be saved as MS-Word etc.), or manually copy to a local document.

• If you have a Google account, please click this link, and a copy of this template will be copied to your Google Drive. You can edit it freely without worrying about leaking personal information.

Guidance from the Department of State Website

Below is the guidance from the Department of State website regarding the use of translations for naturalization:

(3) Translations. Any document containing foreign language submitted to USCIS shall be accompanied by a full English language translation which the translator has certified as complete and accurate, and by the translator’s certification that he or she is competent to translate from the foreign language into English.

The certification format should include the certifier’s name, signature, address, and date of certification. A suggested format is:

Certification by Translator

I [typed name], certify that I am fluent (conversant) in the English and ________ languages, and that the above/attached document is an accurate translation of the document attached entitled ______________________________.

Signature _________________________________ Date Typed Name Address