Alabama Document Translation Services
Apostille Authentications provides certified document translation for people and businesses in Alabama, from $65 per page. Most translations are ready in 1 to 2 business days. We work remotely from our office in Lake Oswego, Oregon, near Portland, and have no office in Alabama. You upload your document through the quote form and receive the translation electronically or by mail. Each translation comes with a signed certificate of accuracy, and the translator’s statement can be notarized when a receiving office asks for that.
Upload your document below as a PDF, JPEG, PNG or Word file, or call (971) 514-3743 for a quote.
Upload Your Documents For Translation
Court interpreters are not document translators in Alabama
People often look for a court-certified translator. Alabama’s Administrative Office of Courts runs a court interpreter program with tiers: registered, conditionally approved, journeyman, certified and certified master level. Interpreters move up by passing a written examination and an oral examination that includes sight translation. Those who pass the written exam and attend orientation are listed on a public registry that courts and attorneys use.
That program credentials people who interpret speech in proceedings. The AOC guidelines say translating documents is not court interpreting work. For a written exhibit, ask the clerk or your attorney what the judge expects.
What Alabama offices say about foreign-language documents
Several Alabama and federal offices publish their own rule on translations. The wording differs, so check which office will receive your document before you order.
- Secretary of State, Authentications. The handbook states that all documents in a foreign language must be accompanied by a notarized English translation, and that failing to present one results in rejection.
- USCIS. Federal regulation 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) requires a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and accurate, plus the translator’s certification of competence to translate from the foreign language into English.
- ALEA Driver License. The Alabama driver manual says foreign-born applicants must have their birth certificate translated into English and certified by the embassy of the issuing country, unless they hold a U.S. passport that proves date of birth. That embassy step is separate from a translation company’s certificate.
Where certified Alabama vital records come from
A translation is only as useful as the record behind it. The Alabama Department of Public Health Center for Health Statistics issues certified copies of birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates for events that occurred in Alabama. Birth certificates have been filed with the Center since 1908.
You can request a certified copy at any county health department in the state, and most can issue it while you wait. Mail requests go to the Center for Health Statistics in Montgomery and take about 7 to 10 days according to the department.
| Search fee | $15.00, includes one certified copy or a Certificate of Failure to Find |
|---|---|
| Additional copies | $6.00 each when ordered at the same time |
| Expedited service | Additional $15.00 |
| Mailing address | Center for Health Statistics, P.O. Box 5625, Montgomery, AL 36103-5625 |
| Questions | (334) 206-5418, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central |
The route to an Alabama apostille
Apostilles and certifications for Alabama documents are issued by the Secretary of State’s Authentications Division in Montgomery. The service is for documents going abroad. Which one you receive depends on whether the destination country is a party to the Hague Convention.
| Return of documents | Regular USPS mail by default. You may include a prepaid Priority, Express or courier envelope instead. |
|---|---|
| Walk-in and delivery address | 11 South Union Street, Suite 224, Montgomery, AL 36130 |
| Mailing address | P.O. Box 5616, Montgomery, AL 36103-5616 |
| Walk-in hours | 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday |
| Phone | (334) 242-5325 |
- Fee. $5.00 per document, whether you need an apostille or a certification.
- Form. Send the Authentication Submittal Form with one document for each apostille or certification requested.
- Payment. Check, money order, cash or credit card, payable to Secretary of State.
- Signature required. The document needs an original signature and a raised or ink stamped seal of a currently commissioned Alabama public official.
- Birth and death certificates. Must bear the signature of the current Alabama State Registrar.
- School records. Must be notarized by an Alabama notary public before an apostille can be attached.
- Certifications. Each notarized document that needs a certification must also carry a county authentication of the notary’s commission.
- Federal documents. Not authenticated at the state level.
Notarized translations and Alabama notaries
Alabama notaries are commissioned through the county judge of probate. Under Act 2023-548 a notary may charge a reasonable fee of no more than $10 per notarial act, and performing a notarial act without the signer’s personal appearance is a misdemeanor. The act also allows remote notarization by two-way audio-video technology when the notary is physically in Alabama.
A notary’s seal on a translation confirms who signed the translator’s statement. It does not vouch for the wording of the translation itself. When an office asks for a notarized translation, we have the translator’s signed statement notarized and send it with the translation.
Languages in Alabama
Census Bureau American Community Survey data for 2024 (1-year estimates) put Alabama’s population at 5,157,699. About 6.4 percent of residents, roughly 313,000 people, speak a language other than English at home, and about 4.5 percent of residents were born outside the United States.
We translate 100 languages. The ones requested most often are Spanish, Russian, Hindi, Urdu, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic and Czech.
How to order a translation from anywhere in Alabama
| Phone | (971) 514-3743 |
|---|---|
| Office hours | 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
| Office | 5 Centerpointe Drive, Suite 400, Lake Oswego, OR 97035 |
- 1. Upload. Send a scan or clear photo through the quote form as a PDF, JPEG, PNG or Word file.
- 2. Tell us the destination. Name the office that will receive the translation, such as USCIS, the Secretary of State, a court or a school, and say whether you need the translator’s statement notarized.
- 3. Confirm the quote. Pricing starts at $65 per page. Most translations are ready in 1 to 2 business days.
- 4. Receive it. The certified translation is returned electronically or by mail. You can also ask us for help with an apostille.
Translation pages for Alabama cities
We have a page for each of these Alabama cities, with the local offices, courts and schools that affect a translation there:
Birmingham · Montgomery · Huntsville · Mobile · Tuscaloosa · Hoover · Auburn · Dothan
- Alabama apostille service, when the original record needs an apostille too
- All document translation services
Alabama document translation questions
Apostille Authentications charges from $65 per page for certified translation ordered from Alabama. The work is done remotely from the Portland, Oregon area and most translations are ready in 1 to 2 business days.
The Alabama Secretary of State charges $5.00 per document for an apostille or a certification. Requests go to the Authentications Division at 11 South Union Street, Suite 224, Montgomery, AL 36130 with the Authentication Submittal Form.
Yes. The Alabama Secretary of State’s authentications handbook says all documents in a foreign language must be accompanied by a notarized English translation, and a missing translation results in rejection.
Any county health department in Alabama can issue a certified copy, usually while you wait, or you can mail a request to the Center for Health Statistics in Montgomery. The fee is $15.00, with additional copies at $6.00 each when ordered together.
USCIS applies the same federal rule everywhere: 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) requires a full English translation certified by the translator as complete and accurate, with a statement that the translator is competent to translate into English.
A notary can notarize the translator’s signature on the statement of accuracy, which is what a notarized translation means. The notary does not check or certify the translation itself.
Sources
The local details on this page come from these official sources.
- Alabama Secretary of State: Authentications
- Authentications Handbook
- Authentication Submittal Form
- 8 CFR 103.2 (eCFR)
- ADPH Vital Records
- ADPH Birth Certificates
- Alabama AOC interpreter guidelines
- Alabama AOC court interpreter program
- Alabama Act 2023-548 (notaries)
- ALEA Driver Manual
- Census Reporter: Alabama (ACS 2024)
Get your Alabama translation started
Upload your document for a quote, or call (971) 514-3743 and tell us where the translation is going. We confirm the level of certification you need before any work begins.