Need your French document translated for the U.S. — or a U.S. document accepted in France? Start with the direction: the translation, certification, and apostille rules are not the same.
Requirements reviewed by Sarah Jenkins
Academic Credential Translation Specialist · Last verified June 2026
Reviewed June 2026 · Sarah Jenkins
France recognizes a traduction assermentée — a sworn translation by a traducteur assermenté (expert traducteur) registered with a French Court of Appeal (Cour d'appel), who stamps and signs it. For a French document used in the United States you instead need a certified English translation with a signed Certificate of Accuracy, which USCIS and universities accept. France has been in the Hague Apostille Convention since 1965, so a French acte is apostilled by the Cour d'appel — not legalized at a consulate.
Confirm final requirements with the authority receiving the document.
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From $24.95/page · signed certification included
Quick reference
Confirm final requirements with the authority receiving the document.
| Translation standard | Sworn translation · traduction assermentée |
|---|---|
| Who can translate | Court-appointed (sworn) translator |
| Apostille | When the receiving authority requires authentication; separate from translation |
| Apostille authority | The Court of Appeal (Cour d'appel) with jurisdiction over the place where the document was issued. |
| Accepted languages | French |
| Responsible authority | Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs |
Official-use requirements
The local certification system, who may translate, and what gives the finished document legal effect.
Cross-border authentication
France is part of the Hague Apostille Convention (since 1965), so public documents are authenticated with a single apostille — no consular legalization.
From France
The Court of Appeal (Cour d'appel) with jurisdiction over the place where the document was issued.France has been a party to the Convention since 1965.
Toward France
A U.S. document going to France is apostilled in the United States — the state Secretary of State, or the U.S. Department of State for federal documents — and then translated into French by a traducteur assermenté.
When the receiving authority requires an apostille on the original, obtain it before translation so the apostille certificate can be translated too. See how apostilles work, or order a certified translation.
Submission checklist
For a U.S. submission, ask the mairie for the copie intégrale (full copy) rather than an extrait, so every margin annotation is present.
Cover the état civil data, margin notes (mentions marginales), and any apostille, with a signed Certificate of Accuracy.
File the copy with the certified translation to USCIS, the university, or the credential evaluator (WES/ECE).
Need the French translation service rather than the rules?
Continue to the language hub or choose the exact document you have.
Two directions, two rulebooks
Choose the destination first. It determines the language, certification, and whether an apostille belongs in the packet.
French birth certificates, diplomas, transcripts, and other non-English records need a complete certified English translation for USCIS, U.S. universities, and credential evaluators.
A U.S. document going to France is apostilled in the United States — the state Secretary of State, or the U.S. Department of State for federal documents — and then translated into French by a traducteur assermenté.
Choose the document you have for its format-specific translation guidance. These links cover the records most often submitted from France to USCIS, universities, and credential evaluators.
fracte de naissance · certificat de naissance
French birth certificate translation is among the most requested services for USCIS family petitions and status adjustments.
Signed & stamped Certificate of Accuracy
Word-for-word · exact structure preserved
French diploma translation is often required for admissions, licensing, and credential evaluation workflows.
Signed & stamped Certificate of Accuracy
Word-for-word · exact structure preserved
frreleve de notes
Transcripts require line-level translation of courses, grades, scales, and institutional headers.
Signed & stamped Certificate of Accuracy
Word-for-word · exact structure preserved
acte de mariage
jugement de divorce · extrait de jugement
acte de deces
passeport · carte nationale
extrait des archives · acte notarie
French records reviewed by Sarah Jenkins — WES/ECE credential translation specialist
Avoid preventable delays
The mistakes we see most often on French documents — and what a correct certified translation does instead.
French transcripts compress course names and use mentions like "AJAC" or "très bien"; a credential evaluator needs them rendered in full, not left as raw abbreviations.
See how we handled itA plurilingual extrait d'acte de naissance includes column headings in several languages but the entries stay in French; USCIS still needs a certified English translation.
Using an extrait instead of the copie intégrale, or skipping the margin annotations, hides later events (legitimation, divorce, name change) that must appear in the packet.
Anonymized French-to-English orders. Each case shows the exact translation problem and how we solved it for the receiving authority.
A French driving license (permis de conduire) carried most of its content as non-text elements — vehicle-category icons, a photo, security stamps, and a machine-readable zone. A plain word-for-word translation would have dropped that meaning. We described each non-text element in brackets, translated the text inside the stamps, and reproduced the machine-readable zone exactly. The certified translation was delivered for the client's USCIS filing.
A Quebec long-form Copie d'acte de naissance used the DEC convention '(S)' after two typed names — the father and the signing registrar — to mark the original act as signed without reproducing the signature, and 'p. i.' after the registrar's title for par intérim (acting). We preserved each '(S)' verbatim, rendered 'p. i.' as 'acting,' and kept the document-type label as 'Copy of an act of birth.' The certified translation was delivered for the client's USCIS filing.
A French hospital sent an employer attestation to USCIS for a physician's immigration filing. The signature page carried an institutional stamp written entirely in French, overlapping the handwritten signature. Because every text element of a foreign document — including stamps — must be fully translated for USCIS, we rendered every line inside the stamp into English: institution name, signatory's title, and phone number. The certified translation was delivered with no source-language text remaining.
Clear per-page pricing
A one-page acte is priced as a single page; multi-page relevés de notes and court judgments are priced by their page count. Standard translation delivery is 24 hours for most 1–3 page orders. Notarization, hard-copy mailing, and apostille service are priced separately because their timelines differ.
Certified translation from
One physical source page, any length.
Start my translation See all pricing and add-onsQuestions people ask before submitting
France requires a traduction assermentée by a traducteur assermenté registered with a Court of Appeal. The foreign document is apostilled first, then translated by the sworn translator.
how apostilles workNo. U.S. authorities do not use France's traducteur assermenté system. A French acte or diplôme needs a certified English translation with a signed Certificate of Accuracy, which USCIS, WES, and ECE accept.
certified French translationThe Court of Appeal (Cour d'appel) with jurisdiction over the place the document was issued. France has used apostilles since joining the Convention in 1965, so no consular legalization is needed for member states.
requirements for other countriesFor a U.S. submission, request the copie intégrale of the acte. It carries the mentions marginales — later annotations such as legitimation, divorce, or name changes — that an extrait can omit.
French birth certificate translationFrench grades run on a /20 scale with mentions (passable, assez bien, bien, très bien). A certified transcript translation preserves the scale and mentions so WES or ECE can map them; it does not convert to a U.S. GPA.
WES translationUsually yes. The column headings are multilingual, but the actual entries (places, notes) remain in French, so USCIS still requires a certified English translation.
French translation servicesPricing is per page. A one-page acte is a single page; multi-page relevés and court judgments are priced by page count. Notarization and apostille are optional add-ons.
see live pricingNo. USCIS and universities reject self-translation. An independent qualified translator must complete and certify the translation with a statement of accuracy.
what a certified translation isInformation verified against official sources. Last verified June 2026.
