Certified Translation: Stamps, Seals and Handwriting

A certified translation should cover everything on the document, not just the printed text. That includes stamps, seals, signatures, handwritten entries and notes in the margin. Translators show these in square brackets, such as [Seal] or [Signature], and translate any words they contain. Leaving them out is one of the most common reasons a translation is sent back.

Key takeaways

• Translate every mark that carries meaning: stamps, seals, signatures, handwriting, annotations and endorsements.
• Translators use bracketed descriptions, such as [Round seal] or [Signature], and translate any text inside a stamp or seal.
• Where something cannot be read, a good translation says so, for example [illegible], rather than guessing.
• For Home Affairs, a translation made in Australia should be by a NAATI-credentialled translator; overseas translations must show the translator's details.
• If the document has an apostille or legalisation stamp in another language, that needs translating too.

Why do stamps and seals need translating?

On many foreign documents, the stamps and seals are not decoration. They show which authority issued the document, which office certified a copy, when a record was registered or amended, and sometimes that a marriage has since ended or a name has changed. An annotation stamped in the margin of a birth or marriage certificate can be the most important thing on the page.

So a receiving body such as Home Affairs, a university or a court needs to know what they say. A translation that reproduces the printed form but ignores the stamps gives an incomplete picture, and the reader cannot tell whether something important was left out. That is why omissions lead to requests for a fresh translation. Our guide to NAATI certified translations explains what a certified translation must include.

How do translators show stamps, seals and signatures?

Translators cannot reproduce a stamp or seal, so they describe it and translate its wording, usually in square brackets at the point where it appears on the original. The exact style varies between translators, but the conventions are broadly similar.

On the original	How it often appears in the translation
A round official seal with text	[Round seal: Civil Registry Office, District of ...]
A signature	[Signature] or [Signed], with the name if printed nearby
A rubber stamp with a date	[Stamp: Received 12 March 2019]
Handwritten entry	The translated words, sometimes marked [handwritten]
Text that cannot be read	[illegible] or [partly illegible]
A seal with no readable text	[Seal, text illegible] or [Emblem]
Text already in English	Reproduced, sometimes marked [in English in the original]

A translator may also add a short translator's note to explain something that has no English equivalent, such as a local office name or a calendar date conversion. Notes should be marked clearly as the translator's own, so they are not mistaken for part of the original.

What about handwriting that is hard to read?

Handwritten entries are common on older certificates, registry extracts and school records, and they are often the entries that matter most: names, dates, parents and later amendments. A careful translator reads them as far as they can, and marks what cannot be read as illegible rather than guessing. Guessing is worse than an honest gap, because a wrong name or date can cause more trouble than a marked uncertainty.

If important handwriting is illegible, the fix is usually a clearer copy of the record, such as a fresh extract or certified copy from the issuing office, rather than a better translation. Ask the translator which entries they could not read, and consider ordering a new copy before you submit. Our guide to documents in a language you do not read covers related problems.

What about names and dates in other scripts or calendars?

Names written in another script, such as Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic or Devanagari, have to be romanised, and there is often more than one accepted way to do it. A translation that romanises your name differently from your passport creates a mismatch the case officer will query. Tell the translator how your passport spells every name that appears, including your parents' names, and ask them to use that spelling, with a note if the original script suggests a different one.

Dates raise a similar problem. Some countries use other calendars, such as the Solar Hijri, Bikram Sambat or Buddhist calendars, and a loose conversion can shift a date by a day or even a year. A careful translator converts each date exactly and may show both calendars. Check every converted date against your passport before you submit.

Should the translator work from the original?

Ideally, yes, or from a clear, complete copy of it. A poor photocopy or phone photo can hide faint stamps, cut off margins, or leave handwriting unreadable, and the translator can only translate what they can see. If the original is fragile or held elsewhere, send a high-quality colour scan of every page, front and back, at full size. Tell the translator about anything that is hard to see, such as an embossed seal with no ink, so they can describe it. A translation made from an incomplete copy will be incomplete too, however skilled the translator.

Do bilingual documents still need translating?

Often only in part. Some certificates print headings in two languages, such as the local language and English, but the entries themselves, the stamps and the handwriting may be in the local language only. The receiving body needs an English version of everything it relies on. A translator will usually reproduce the English that is already there and translate the rest, noting which parts were in English in the original.

Do not assume a bilingual form means no translation is needed. Check each entry, stamp and annotation, and ask the translator to cover anything that is not already in English.

What does Home Affairs expect?

For visa and citizenship applications, Home Affairs generally wants an English translation of any document not in English. When the translation is made in Australia, the translator should be NAATI-credentialled. When it is made outside Australia, the translation must show the translator's full name, address and telephone number, and details of their qualifications and experience in the language. The Home Affairs website sets out the current requirements, and NAATI lists credentialled practitioners.

Home Affairs usually wants the translation uploaded together with a copy of the original, so the case officer can see both. Make sure the translation covers every page you upload, in the same order, and that nothing on the original is missing from the translation.

What should a certified translation include?

A certified translation is usually a complete rendering of the document into English, laid out to follow the original, with a certification by the translator. In Australia, that typically includes the translator's name and signature, their NAATI credential and practitioner number, often a NAATI stamp, and the date, and many translators certify every page. For documents going to DFAT, DFAT's own guidance says translations should carry the translator's details and credentials on every page.

Some overseas bodies want more, such as a translation made by a sworn translator in their own country, or a translation notarised by an Australian notary. Ask the receiving body before ordering, because a translation that suits Home Affairs may not suit a foreign court or registry. Our guides to notarised translations and to certified and uncertified translations explain the options.

How do you check a translation before submitting it?

1. Lay the original and translation side by side, page by page, in the same order.
2. Find every stamp, seal and signature on the original, and check each appears in the translation.
3. Check handwritten entries and margins, including anything on the back of each page.
4. Check names and dates against your passport, and ask about any spelling differences.
5. Check the certification: translator's name, credential, signature and date.

What does this look like in practice?

Here is an illustration, not a real case. Ahmed submitted a translation of his marriage certificate for a partner visa. The case officer asked for a fresh translation, and he could not see why.

Comparing the two side by side, he found that the translation covered the printed certificate but not a stamped annotation on the back, which recorded that his surname spelling had been corrected, nor the text of the registry's round seal. He returned to the translator, who added both, marked one faded handwritten date as partly illegible, and recertified the translation. The case officer accepted it.

In short

A certified translation must cover the whole document: printed text, stamps, seals, signatures, handwriting, annotations and anything on the back, with unreadable parts marked rather than guessed. Translators show stamps and seals in square brackets and translate any words in them. Check the translation against the original before submitting, because omissions are one of the most common reasons translations are sent back.

People also search for

• What if your translation was not accepted?
• How does certified translation work in Australia?
• How are NAATI translation rates set?
• Do immigration translations need notarising?
• What if the apostille details do not match your passport?
• Can you order a certified translation online?

Not sure your translation covers everything on the document? Send us the original and the instructions you were given, and we will explain each step. For translation with notarial certification, see our NAATI translation with notary certification service.