Missouri Document Translation Services
Apostille Authentications provides certified document translation for people and businesses in Missouri, from $65 per page, with most translations ready in 1 to 2 business days. The work is done remotely from our office in Lake Oswego, in the Portland, Oregon area. You upload your document through the quote form and receive the translation electronically or by mail. Each translation carries a signed certificate of accuracy, and the translator’s statement can be notarized when the receiving office asks for it.
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
How to order a translation from anywhere in Missouri
We have no office in Missouri. Everything is handled online and by mail, so the steps are the same in St. Louis, Springfield, Columbia or a rural county.
- Upload. Send a scan or clear photo through the quote form as a PDF, JPEG, PNG or Word file.
- Quote. Translation starts at $65 per page. You get a price before work begins.
- Translation. Most documents are ready in 1 to 2 business days and come with a signed certificate of accuracy.
- Delivery. You receive the translation electronically or by mail.
- Languages. We work in 100 languages. The most requested are Spanish, Russian, Hindi, Urdu, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic and Czech. Ask about any other language.
What USCIS requires of a translation
Federal immigration filings follow one rule nationwide. Under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), any document containing foreign language submitted to USCIS must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and accurate, along with the translator’s certification of competence to translate from the foreign language into English.
The regulation does not ask for notarization. Our certificate of accuracy is written to cover both statements. Whether an officer accepts a particular filing is always the agency’s decision.
Missouri apostilles: the Secretary of State in Jefferson City
Apostilles and authentications for Missouri documents are issued by the Commissions unit of the Missouri Secretary of State. The office explains that an apostille is the form of authentication used under the Hague Convention, and the certificate itself states that it does not certify the content of the underlying document.
The published instructions describe a mail-in process: you send the documents with the office’s Apostille/Authentication Cover Letter, naming the country of use and the number of documents, plus payment. The page does not publish a processing time or walk-in rules, so call before travelling to Jefferson City.
| Fee | $10 per apostille or authentication |
|---|---|
| Adoption documents | Fees capped by state law at $100 per child |
| Mailing address | Commissions, Secretary of State’s Office, 600 West Main, Room 322, Jefferson City, MO 65101 |
| Phone | (573) 751-2783 or toll free (866) 223-6535 |
| Payment | Check or money order payable to Secretary of State’s Office, or card with the credit card payment sheet |
| Return | Regular mail unless you include a prepaid return envelope |
- Notarized documents. Must carry a proper notarization, including the notarial paragraph and the notary’s signature and seal.
- Birth certificates. Must be a certified copy from the Bureau of Vital Records.
- Marriage records. A certified copy from the county Recorder of Deeds, or a statement from the Bureau of Vital Records.
- Divorce decrees. A certified copy from the Circuit Clerk of the county where the decree was recorded.
- School documents. A certified copy from the school.
Translations and the apostille route
The Secretary of State’s list does not include a category for translations. A translation reaches the apostille desk as a notarized document: the translator signs a statement of accuracy and a Missouri notary notarizes that signature. When a translation needs to be notarized for Missouri, for example for a Missouri apostille, we hire a notary commissioned in Missouri to notarize the translator’s statement.
We also help with the apostille request itself. Ask the authority abroad whether it wants the apostille on the original record, on the translation, or on both, because that decides which documents go to Jefferson City.
Where certified Missouri vital records come from
The Bureau of Vital Records at the Department of Health and Senior Services issues birth and death certificates from 1910 to the present. For marriages and divorces it issues statements only. Certified copies of the original marriage license come from the county Recorder of Deeds, and certified divorce decrees from the Circuit Clerk.
Local public health agencies can issue Missouri birth certificates from 1920 and death certificates from 1980 in short form. The Bureau says mail requests to Jefferson City take approximately 4 to 8 weeks depending on volume, and that lobby service is by appointment. Its ordering page adds that a certificate ordered online can be directed to the Secretary of State for an apostille.
| Bureau address | 930 Wildwood Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65109 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 573-751-6387 |
| Birth certificate | $15 per copy |
| Death certificate | $14 first copy, $11 each additional copy |
| Marriage or divorce statement | $15 per copy |
What Missouri notaries can and cannot do
Missouri’s notary law draws clear lines that matter for foreign-language paperwork. The Notary Handbook, citing chapter 486 of the Revised Statutes, says a notarial certificate must use only letters, characters and a language that the notary reads, writes and understands, and that the signer must communicate directly with the notary in a language both understand.
A notary may not certify a copy of a vital record, a public record or a recorded document. Under section 486.680, a notary may not claim powers the law does not give, including the power to counsel on immigration issues, and may not use the term ‘notario publico’ or any equivalent non-English term on a business card, advertisement, notice or sign. A nonattorney notary who advertises in another language must post a notice stating that he or she is not an attorney and has no authority to give advice on immigration or other legal matters.
A notary’s seal on a translator’s statement confirms the signature. It does not vouch for the translation.
Courts, driver licensing and language data
Missouri courts appoint interpreters under section 476.803 and Court Operating Rule 19.04, which ranks interpreters and translators as certified, registered or qualified and tells judges to prefer the first two. The Office of State Courts Administrator runs the program through its Access to Justice office, (573) 751-4377. It reports that people have become certified or registered in Missouri in Arabic, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Mandarin Chinese, Farsi, French, Russian and Spanish. The rule does not set a format for translated exhibits, so ask the clerk or your attorney what the judge expects.
The Department of Revenue’s document pages do not publish a translation standard for foreign-language records, so check with the license office before your visit. They do say that Missouri residents who married outside the United States must first have the foreign marriage license recorded with the Recorder of Deeds in their county, then present a certified copy from that office.
According to 2024 American Community Survey one-year estimates, Missouri has about 6.25 million residents. About 7.4 percent of them speak a language other than English at home, and 4.9 percent were born outside the United States.
Translation pages for Missouri cities
We have a page for each of these Missouri cities, with the local offices, courts and schools that affect a translation there:
Jefferson City · Kansas City · St. Louis · Springfield · Columbia · Independence
- Missouri apostille service, when the original record needs an apostille too
- All document translation services
Missouri document translation questions
Apostille Authentications translates documents for Missouri customers remotely from the Portland, Oregon area. Translation starts at $65 per page and each one comes with a signed certificate of accuracy.
The Missouri Secretary of State charges $10 per apostille or authentication. State law caps the fee for adoption documents at $100 per child.
Mail them with the cover letter and payment to Commissions, Secretary of State’s Office, 600 West Main, Room 322, Jefferson City, MO 65101. The phone number is (573) 751-2783.
No. 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) requires a full English translation certified by the translator as complete and accurate, with a statement of the translator’s competence. The rule is federal and is the same in Missouri as elsewhere.
A Missouri notary can notarize a translator’s signed statement but does not vouch for the translation. Section 486.680 bars notaries from using the term ‘notario publico’ and from claiming power to counsel on immigration issues.
The Secretary of State’s instructions say a birth certificate must be a certified copy from the Bureau of Vital Records. Confirm with the Commissions unit at (573) 751-2783 before sending a locally issued copy.
Sources
The local details on this page come from these official sources.
- Missouri Secretary of State: Certification, Authentication and Apostilles
- Apostille/Authentication Cover Letter
- Missouri Notary Handbook
- RSMo 486.680
- DHSS Bureau of Vital Records: Order a Copy of a Vital Record
- Missouri Courts: interpreter program
- Court Operating Rule 19
- Missouri Department of Revenue: documents for a license
- 8 CFR 103.2
- Census Reporter: Missouri (ACS 2024)
Get your Missouri 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.