Minnesota Document Translation Services

Apostille Authentications provides certified document translation for people in Minnesota from $65 per page, and most translations are ready in 1 to 2 business days. Each one comes with a signed certificate of accuracy. We work remotely from our office in the Portland, Oregon area: you upload your document through the quote form and receive the translation electronically or by mail. Below is what Minnesota agencies and federal rules say about translated documents, with links to the official sources.

Upload your document below as a PDF, JPEG, PNG or Word file, or call (971) 514-3743 for a quote.

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What Minnesota agencies and USCIS ask for in a translation

There is no single Minnesota rule for translations. Each agency sets its own requirement, so check which one applies to your document before you order.

USCIS. Federal regulation 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) says any foreign-language document submitted to USCIS must come with a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and accurate, along with the translator’s certification of competence to translate into English.
Driver and Vehicle Services. DVS tells new residents that a driver’s license that is not in English must come with a translation. Minnesota Rules 7410.0400 goes further for documents submitted in another language: the translation must be sworn to by the translator as true and accurate, the translator must not be related to the applicant by blood or marriage, and the translator must fall into one of the categories listed in the rule, such as accreditation by the American Translators Association or certification by a court.
County recorders. Under Minn. Stat. 507.46, a county recorder or registrar of titles must accept a document in another language for recording when it comes with an English translation and a certificate of translation in substantially the statutory form, which is signed, lists the translator’s address and telephone number, and is sworn before a notary.

Getting a Minnesota apostille for a document or its translation

The Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State issues apostilles. It issues a single apostille for documents going abroad whether or not the destination country is part of the Hague Convention.

The office will apostille a document written in another language as long as the notarization on it is in English. It does not translate certificates, and it tells applicants to arrange translation elsewhere. A translation and the record it translates are handled as separate documents, each needing its own apostille.

A notarized document must carry a complete notarial certificate: the county and state, the notarial statement, the date, the title Notary Public, the notary’s original ink signature and the notary’s stamp. The office treats a printout of an electronically notarized document as a copy, so it must be properly notarized before an apostille can be issued.

When a translation needs to be notarized for Minnesota, for example ahead of a Minnesota apostille, we hire a notary commissioned in Minnesota to notarize the translator’s statement. We can also help with the apostille request itself.

Fee	$5.00 per apostille
Form	Authentication Request Form, required for mail requests
Mail and in person	First National Bank Building, 332 Minnesota Street, Suite N201, Saint Paul, MN 55101
Walk-ins	Not accepted. Appointments open 14 days ahead, with up to 10 documents per appointment
Payment by mail	Check or money order payable to MN Secretary of State
Processing	No time is published. Requests are handled in the order received
Return	Regular U.S. mail at no charge, or your own prepaid FedEx, UPS or Priority Mail label
Phone	651-296-2803, option 2

Minnesota vital records: where certified copies come from

The Secretary of State’s apostille guidance says birth and death certificates must be certified by the Minnesota Department of Health, and marriage certificates must be certified by a Minnesota county. Keepsake certificates are not accepted. Certified divorce decrees and judgments come from the county where the case was heard.

The Department of Health’s Office of Vital Records keeps births since 1900 and deaths since 1908. It has no walk-in counter and takes orders by mail or fax, and mail and fax applications generally have to be signed before a notary. A certified birth certificate costs $26. For faster service the department points people to county vital records offices, where an order is often filled while you wait. Marriage records are held by the county that issued the license.

FBI background checks are federal documents. The Secretary of State cannot apostille them, and they go to the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC.

Minnesota courts: interpreters are certified, translators are not

Rule 8 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice for the District Courts sets up a statewide roster of court interpreters kept by the State Court Administrator. Interpreters on the roster have completed orientation and passed ethics and other examinations, and certified interpreters are to be appointed when reasonably available. People who are parties or witnesses in a case and cannot speak English receive an interpreter at no cost by contacting court administration where the hearing is scheduled.

That program covers spoken and signed interpreting. The Judicial Branch states that interpretation is different from translation, which is the conversion of written text, and Rule 8 does not set a standard for translated documents filed in a case. If you need to file a foreign-language document, ask the court administrator or your attorney what the judge will expect. A certified translation with a signed statement from the translator is the usual starting point, and we can add a notarized translator’s statement on request.

What Minnesota notaries can and cannot do

A notary’s role in a translation is narrow. The notary notarizes the translator’s signature on a sworn statement. The notary does not check or vouch for the translation itself.

Minnesota law also limits how notaries present themselves. Minn. Stat. 358.72 bars a notary who is not an attorney from giving legal advice, drafting legal records, acting as an immigration consultant or using the terms notario or notario publico. Minn. Stat. 359.062 requires a non-attorney notary who advertises in a language other than English to include a notice, in English and in that language, stating that the notary is not an attorney licensed to practice law in Minnesota and may not give legal advice or accept fees for legal advice. Violating that section is a misdemeanor.

Languages spoken in Minnesota

Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 one-year estimates, as published by Census Reporter, put Minnesota’s population at 5,793,151. About 13.1 percent of residents, roughly 719,000 people, speak a language other than English at home, and about 9 percent of the population was born outside the United States. The Judicial Branch publishes its interpreter materials in Hmong, Somali and Spanish.

We translate 100 languages. The ones requested most often are Spanish, Russian, Hindi, Urdu, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic and Czech. If you need another language, ask us before ordering and we will tell you whether we cover it.

How to order from anywhere in Minnesota

1. Upload. Send a scan or clear photo through the quote form as a PDF, JPEG, PNG or Word file. Nothing has to be mailed to us.
2. Tell us the destination. USCIS, DVS, a court, a school or a foreign authority. Say whether you need the translator’s statement notarized or an apostille.
3. Receive it. Pricing starts at $65 per page and most translations are ready in 1 to 2 business days, delivered electronically or by mail.
Questions. Call (971) 514-3743 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Our office is at 5 Centerpointe Drive, Suite 400, Lake Oswego, OR 97035. We have no office in Minnesota, and the agency receiving your document makes the final decision on whether to accept it.

Translation pages for Minnesota cities

We have a page for each of these Minnesota cities, with the local offices, courts and schools that affect a translation there:

Saint Paul · Minneapolis · Rochester · Bloomington · Duluth · Brooklyn Park

Minnesota apostille service, when the original record needs an apostille too
All document translation services

Minnesota document translation questions

How much does certified document translation cost in Minnesota?

Apostille Authentications charges from $65 per page for certified translation and most orders are ready in 1 to 2 business days. The service is provided remotely from the Portland, Oregon area, with delivery electronically or by mail.

Who issues apostilles in Minnesota?

The Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State issues apostilles from its office at 332 Minnesota Street, Suite N201, in Saint Paul. The fee is $5.00 per apostille.

Can Minnesota apostille a document that is not in English?

Yes. The Minnesota Secretary of State says it can issue an apostille for a document in another language if the notarization on it is in English.

Does Minnesota DVS require a translation of a foreign driver's license?

Yes. Minnesota DVS says you need to provide a translation if your driver’s license is not in English, and Minnesota Rules 7410.0400 sets out who may translate documents submitted to the department.

Does a translation for USCIS have to be notarized in Minnesota?

The federal rule, 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), asks for a full English translation with the translator’s certification of accuracy and competence. It does not mention notarization.

Can a Minnesota notary public certify a translation?

A Minnesota notary can notarize the translator’s signed statement but does not vouch for the translation itself. State law also bars non-attorney notaries from giving legal advice or using the title notario publico.