The Spanish to English Marriage Certificate Translation Process

A client approached Tomedes recently asking how to translate a marriage certificate from Spanish to English. We were delighted to be able to help, having over a decade of experience of providing Spanish translation services. 

The Spanish to English marriage certificate translation process is one that we are able to provide to clients from all Spanish-speaking countries. We can also translate marriage certificate documents at short notice, thanks to our urgent translation service. 

In this instance, our client needed her marriage certificate translated from Latin American Spanish (specifically, Mexican Spanish) into US English in order to comply with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requirements. 

Certified Spanish Marriage Certificate Translation for USCIS

It’s a common requirement when you move from one country to another to have to produce a proof of marriage document at some point when dealing with the new country’s officials. In the case of our recent client, this meant the need to translate her marriage certificate from Spanish to English. The request originated from the USCIS, meaning that timely and accurate translation was essential. Thankfully, these are precisely the characteristics for which Tomedes’ translation service is so well-known!

So what does wedding certificate translation actually involve? Let’s walk through the process. 

Check the Source Document Prior to Translation

The marriage certificate translation process starts with ensuring the original document is legible. Despite the incredible advances that we’ve seen in technology over the past decades, marriage records (along with records of births and deaths) are often still written out by hand. Smudged documents or papers that have faded over time can present issues for translators, so checking the source document is an essential first step. 

Translate the Wedding Certificate

With the legibility of the source document checked, it’s time to start translating. This process involves not only the conversion of the text from one language to another, but also an attempt to mirror the layout of the original certificate so far as is practical. 

In the case of this client, for example, the translation of the marriage certificate from Spanish to English included converting the copy to English and using desktop publishing software to ensure that the translation looked similar to the original. 

Issuing a Certificate of Translation

In most cases, our clients ask for a certificate of translation to accompany their marriage certificate. As such, this is usually the final stage of the process, with the translator issuing a certificate of translation to the client along with their translated wedding certificate. You can click the link below to read a further example of our certified marriage certificate translation work. 

Read more: Korean to English Marriage Certificate Translation

Affordable Certified Legal Translation Services

The translation of documents such as marriage certificates falls under the broad umbrella of legal translation services, which covers a wide range of translation needs. 

Legal translation can encompass the translation of contracts, court papers and a whole host of other documents. The common thread is that the translation work requires specialist knowledge of legal terminology and processes in both the source language and the target one. It also requires an understanding of how those processes play out in both cultures – an understanding of the legal context. 

Certified translation can be used for any legal document. Whatever the document in question happens to be, the translator follows the same process in terms of issuing the certificate of translation. That certificate verifies the authenticity of the translated document, whether it’s a proof of marriage certificate or an employment contract. 

The kind of expertise that legal translation requires means that the service can often be priced far above the cost of other sorts of translation. However, there are ways that translation agencies can make legal translation services more affordable by paying careful attention to their organisation structure – just as we’ve done here at Tomedes! 

For the marriage certificate translation from Spanish to English sample of this particular client, our affordable legal translation offering meant that she was able to access the expertise that she needed at the price that she needed. 

The Best Certified English to Spanish Translators

Just as legal expertise is a core component of accurate wedding certificate translation, so too is linguistic skill. In this instance, that meant sourcing Spanish to English translation expertise. 

In order to translate the client’s marriage certificate from Spanish to English, we needed to provide a professional translator who had experience of translating certificates, as well as being fluent in both Spanish and English. 

This is where Tomedes’ global network of translators comes into play. We’ve spent 13 years building up this network, so that we have incredibly fast access to translators with a wide range of experience and expertise. 

It also means that we can quickly access translators who work with the right dialect of the language that needs to be translated. There are notable differences between UK and US English, for example, as well as between the Spanish spoken in Spain and that spoken in Latin America. 

While these differences aren’t sufficient to make the languages mutually unintelligible (far from it, in these two examples), they do mean that care needs to be taken over the language being used during the translation process. 

For this client, that meant using a native US English speaker who was also fluent in the Spanish used in Mexico. Specifics such as this are precisely why we maintain such an extensive network of professional translators. Doing so means that we can access the particular linguistic skills we need for each translation that we undertake. 

Looking to Get a Marriage Certificate Translated?

If you’re looking for a wedding certificate translation, Tomedes is here to help. 
We cover a huge range of language pairings in order to serve clients around the world. As such, no matter the original language of your document nor the target language, we are confident that we can provide the marriage certificate translation that you need – and at a great price, too! 

Why not use the translation quote option on our website to find out how much it will cost to translate your marriage certificate using our certified, professional translation service?