Legal Document Translation in Houston, TX
Legal document translation for Houston is done by Apostille Authentications from $65 per page, with most jobs finished in 1 to 2 business days. Every translation carries a signed certificate of accuracy, and the translator’s statement can be notarized if the receiving office wants that. We do not have a Houston office. The work is done remotely from the Portland, Oregon area: you upload the document, and the translation comes back electronically or by mail.
Upload your document below as a PDF, JPEG, PNG or Word file, or call (971) 514-3743 for a quote.
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Harris County offices that issue the records you may need translated
If the record is going abroad, start with a certified copy from the office that holds it. In Houston that is usually one of two clerks.
| Birth certificate (County Clerk) | $23.00 each |
|---|---|
| Death certificate (County Clerk) | $21.00 first copy, $4.00 each additional |
| Marriage license | $81.00, or $181.00 without proof of state residency |
| District Clerk paper copies | $1.00 per page plus $5.00 for certification and seal |
- Harris County Clerk, Personal Records. Harris County Civil Courthouse, 201 Caroline, Suite 330, Houston, TX 77002, open Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. The department issues marriage licenses, declarations of informal marriage, assumed name records and birth and death certificates. The office lists 11 locations across the county.
- Harris County District Clerk. 1001 Preston, Suite 630c, Houston, TX 77002. This office provides copies of court documents such as divorce decrees and judgments from the district courts. You need the case number and the style of the case.
Translated documents in Houston courts
Harris County has 67 district courts and 20 county courts at law, according to the courts’ own December 2024 announcement. Probate matters go to five probate courts: Nos. 1 to 4 at 201 Caroline and No. 5 at 1115 Congress St, 5th Floor. Those courts hear wills, estates, heirship and guardianship cases, where foreign wills and civil records often have to be read in English.
For a written translation offered as evidence, the statewide rule is Texas Rule of Evidence 1009. It calls for the translation, the foreign language document and a qualified translator’s affidavit or unsworn declaration to be served on all parties at least 45 days before trial. Ask your attorney which form the court expects, and tell us when you order so the translator’s statement can be prepared as an affidavit and notarized.
The district courts and county courts at law adopted an expanded Language Access Plan in fall 2024, replacing a 2012 plan. It covers interpreters and translators for people with limited English proficiency and the translation of court forms into more languages. That plan is about access to the court, and it does not replace a party’s own duty to supply translated exhibits.
Ordering from Houston: three steps
| Price | From $65 per page |
|---|---|
| Turnaround | Most translations in 1 to 2 business days |
| Questions | (971) 514-3743, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
- Upload. Send a scan or phone photo of each page through the quote form. PDF, JPEG, PNG and Word files work.
- Say where it is going. A Harris County court, USCIS, a consulate and a university each ask for something slightly different. Tell us which one, and whether you need notarization.
- Get it back. We return the certified translation electronically, or by mail if you need paper with original signatures.
Consulates in Houston and translations going abroad
The City of Houston’s Mayor’s Office of Trade and International Affairs states that more than 90 nations are represented in the Houston Consular Corps, which it describes as the third largest in the United States. Its list includes Mexico, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Russia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Japan, among others.
Each consulate sets its own rules for translations into its language. Some accept a certified translation, some want it notarized, and some require an apostille on the underlying Texas record. Check with the consulate before you order, then tell us what it asked for.
Houston universities and translated transcripts
- Texas Southern University. International Admissions requires documents not originally in English to be translated by a certified translator in line with USCIS standards: complete, accurate, and with a signed statement of accuracy and competence. Applicants submit both the original language version and the translation, and TSU also requires a course-by-course credential evaluation.
- Rice University. The Professional Science Master’s Program states that transcripts not in English must be accompanied by a certified translation. Other Rice programs publish their own requirements.
From Houston to a Texas apostille
Apostilles for Texas documents are issued by the Secretary of State’s Authentications Unit in Austin, not by a Houston office. The fee is $15 per document, and requests go in with Form 2102. By mail, the address is P.O. Box 13550, Austin, TX 78711-3550, and the office says to allow up to two weeks from receipt.
A translation qualifies only if a Texas notary witnesses the translator sign the statement and the source document, or a copy, is attached. Certified records must have been issued within the past five years, so an old birth certificate may need to be reordered from the County Clerk first.
On August 26, 2026 the Secretary of State held an appointment-only apostille event at 7600 Washington Ave. in Houston, which it described as the first time the service was offered outside Austin. Watch the Secretary of State’s news releases for any further dates. We can help with the apostille step for your translated document.
Languages in Houston
Houston had 2,387,910 residents in the 2024 American Community Survey, as published by Census Reporter. About 47.8 percent speak a language other than English at home and 30.8 percent were born outside the United States. We translate 100 languages, including Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, Russian and Czech.
Related services for Houston
- Texas document translation services: the statewide rules for courts, notaries, vital records and driver licensing
- Texas apostille service
- All document translation services
Houston translation questions
Apostille Authentications provides certified legal document translation for Houston customers remotely from the Portland, Oregon area. You upload the document and receive the translation electronically or by mail.
Our certified translation starts at $65 per page, and most translations are ready in 1 to 2 business days.
Texas apostilles are issued by the Secretary of State in Austin for $15 per document, by mail or in person. The office held a one-day appointment event in Houston on August 26, 2026.
Texas Rule of Evidence 1009 calls for the translation, the original document and a qualified translator’s affidavit or unsworn declaration, served on all parties at least 45 days before trial. Confirm the details with your attorney or the court.
The Harris County Clerk’s Personal Records department at 201 Caroline, Suite 330 issues birth certificates for $23.00 each.
TSU requires documents not in English to be translated by a certified translator to USCIS standards and submitted with the original language version. It also requires a course-by-course credential evaluation.
Sources
The local details on this page come from these official sources.
- Harris County Clerk: Personal Records
- Harris County District Clerk: Purchase Copies
- Harris County Probate Courts
- Harris County Courts: Language Access Plan release
- City of Houston: Houston Consular Corps
- Texas Southern University: International Admissions
- Rice University Professional Science Master’s: Transcripts
- Texas Secretary of State: Request a Universal Apostille
- Texas Secretary of State: Houston apostille event release
- Census Reporter: Houston profile (ACS 2024)
Get your Houston 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.