Legal Translation Resources
American law regulates translated documents in dozens of places, and almost nowhere in one. These references gather what each court, agency and state actually requires, with a link to the official text behind every statement. They are free, open, and re-verified every year.
Certified Translation Requirements in All 50 U.S. States
What every state expects of a translated document, in its courts, at its driver licensing agency, and in front of its notaries and vital records offices. One page, fifty-one jurisdictions, every rule linked to its official text.
USCIS & EOIR Certified Translation Requirements
The three federal standards that decide whether your translated evidence is accepted: 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) for USCIS, 8 CFR 1003.33 and the Practice Manual for the immigration courts, and the Department of State rule for consular cases.
How U.S. Courts Handle Foreign-Language Evidence
Our review of the rules of evidence, statutes and judiciary policies of all 51 jurisdictions. Five require a translator affidavit by rule. None certifies written translators. Six findings, four tables, sources throughout.
Court Interpreter & Translation Rules by State
The same research as a working tool: search any state, filter by court approach or driver licensing requirement, and see how each jurisdiction lines up with ABA Standards for Language Access in Courts 7 and 8.
How These References Are Built
Every statement here comes from a primary source: a rule of evidence, a statute, a court rule, an agency's own published requirements. We read them on the official site rather than repeating what other providers write, we quote the operative words, and we link the text so you can check us. Where a state agency publishes no standard, we say so instead of inventing one.
Each reference carries the date it was last verified and is reviewed once a year, because state court rules are amended annually and driver licensing requirements shift with REAL ID implementation. Louisiana amended its Code of Evidence in 2024, Georgia issued new interpreting rules the same year, and North Carolina and Ohio followed; a guide that is not dated is a guide you cannot trust.
Corrections are welcome and credited. If you are a clerk, a language access coordinator, a law librarian or an attorney and you find an error or a change we missed, write to [email] and we will fix it and name you, unless you would rather we did not.
Who Writes Them
These references are written by Benjamin Thomas, founder of Jurilingua, a certified legal translation company and member of the American Translators Association serving law firms, corporate legal departments and individuals across the United States since 2013. Jurilingua certifies translations for state and federal courts, USCIS and EOIR filings, consular posts and driver licensing agencies in more than 80 languages.
Bar associations, law libraries, legal aid organizations and CLE providers are free to link, quote and reproduce this material with attribution. If you would like a version adapted for your members or your jurisdiction, ask.
Certified Translations Prepared to the Standard Your Forum Applies
Translator affidavits for the states that require them, EOIR-standard certifications for immigration filings, state forms where an agency prescribes one. In 80+ languages, with the translator named on every certification.
Request a certified translation