Document Already Partly in English — Case

Do you still need a certified translation if your document is already partly in English?

TL;DRA Dutch Certificate of Conduct (Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag) from the Netherlands arrived for a USCIS filing already partly in English. Its field labels, screening profile, and closing paragraph were printed in both Dutch and English. USCIS still requires a complete certified translation. We translated the Dutch-only portions, reproduced the English exactly as printed, and added a Translator's Note explaining the bilingual layout. The full document was certified and delivered.

Case Specifications

Document: Certificate of Conduct
Foreign Name: Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag
Country: Netherlands
Languages: Dutch → English
Submitted To: USCIS

What We Received

A client submitted a Dutch Certificate of Conduct — in Dutch, a Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag, or VOG — issued by Justis, the screening authority within the Netherlands Ministry of Justice and Security. The document is bilingual by design. Its title, every field label, the screening profile, and the entire closing certification paragraph are pre-printed in both Dutch and English. Only the body letter, the data entries, the signature block, and the round seal appear in Dutch alone.

The applicant needed the document for a US immigration filing. A [certified Dutch-to-English translation](/languages/dutch) was required, and the client asked whether the English already on the page was enough. This is a common question for European civil documents, many of which are issued in bilingual formats.

Top of a Dutch Certificate of Conduct (Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag) from Justis with personal data redacted, showing the title and field labels pre-printed in both Dutch and English — a document already partly in English. — Top portion of a Dutch Certificate of Conduct (Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag / VOG) issued by Justis — personal details redacted. The pre-printed field labels appear in both Dutch and English (Datum / Date, Geslachtsnaam / Surname, Voorna(a)m(en) / Given names, Geboortedatum / Date of birth), showing the bilingual layout that still requires a complete certified translation for USCIS.

Why This Required Special Handling

USCIS requires a full English translation of any document that is not entirely in English. A document that is partly in English does not qualify as an English document. The Dutch portions still have to be translated, and the certification has to cover the whole page.

The English already on the page creates two traps. Skipping the document, on the theory that it is "basically in English," leaves the Dutch content uncertified. Re-translating the English labels from the Dutch produces redundant, slightly different wording that can look like a discrepancy. A [translator cannot alter or second-guess the source](/guides/can-a-translator-correct-the-source); the printed English is part of the original and has to be carried over as it stands.

The bilingual layout raises smaller questions too. The screening profile reads "Visum en emigratie / Visa and emigration" — the same value in two languages. One field, "Prefix to surname," is blank. The closing paragraph is a fixed English text supplied by Justis itself.

How We Handled It

We treated the page as a single bilingual original and translated it completely. The Dutch-only text — the body letter, the signatory's title, and the seal — was rendered into English. The bilingual field labels were given once in English, since the English was already present. The screening profile was rendered once as "Visa and emigration." The empty field was marked "[Blank in original]" so a reader can see it was blank, not skipped.

The pre-printed English certification paragraph at the foot was reproduced exactly as printed, not paraphrased. The illegible handwritten signature was marked "[Illegible signature]," with the printed name and title carried over beneath it. The round seal was described in brackets, with its bilingual text given in English.

Expert Note

"The source document is bilingual. Its title, field labels, screening profile, and the standard certification paragraph at the foot appear in both Dutch and English in the original. The English wording shown in the original has been reproduced as it appears. The screening profile appears as "Visum en emigratie / Visa and emigration" and is rendered here once in English."

Klaus WeberEuropean Medical & Scientific Translator

Two further notes were added. One recorded that dates were converted from the Dutch day-month-year format to the unambiguous "Month DD, YYYY" US convention. The other noted that the document refers to a following page and to the reverse of the certificate, which were not part of the scan provided. The whole translation was certified on the final page, so the [certification of accuracy](/guides/certificate-of-accuracy) covers every element — Dutch and English alike.

The Outcome

The complete certified translation was delivered for the applicant's US immigration filing. The Dutch content was translated and the original English was reproduced. Because the whole document was certified, it met the [USCIS requirement](/immigration/uscis) that translations be complete and accurate.

We translate Netherlands police and civil documents — including the VOG certificate of conduct — for [US police-clearance filings](/immigration/police-clearance) regularly. We handle other bilingual European documents the same way. We translate what is in the source language, reproduce what is already in English, and certify the whole.

What This Means for You

A document that is already partly in English still needs a complete certified translation for USCIS. The English on the page does not exempt the rest. A good translation reproduces the existing English exactly, translates only what is in the foreign language, and certifies the whole document — so an adjudicator sees one consistent, complete English version.

Have a similar situation?

We translate Dutch and other European documents that arrive partly in English — police clearances, civil-registry records, and diplomas — certifying the complete document for USCIS and other US filings.

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