COLOMBIA · CERTIFIED TRANSLATION
Certified Translation of Colombia Documents for USCIS
Translating Colombian civil documents for USCIS begins with one advantage: because Colombia has been a Hague Apostille country since 2001, a birth or marriage record needs only an electronic apostille from the Cancillería rather than embassy legalization. The harder translation work lies in Colombia's two-surname naming system and its heavy reliance on notas marginales — the marginal annotations on a registro civil that record later divorces, corrections, or recognitions and must be carried into the English version. Records are issued by both the Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil and by notarías, on a standardized serial form bearing a NUIP (Número Único de Identificación Personal). Translation HelpDesk's native-Spanish specialists reproduce every marginal note, both surnames, and serial identifier so a Colombian file matches consistently across an entire USCIS petition.
Updated July 11, 2026 · Reviewed by Victor Luján, Founder — certified translations since 2018
DOCUMENTS FROM COLOMBIA
Pick Your Document
Colombian Birth Certificate →
Colombian Marriage Certificate →
Colombian Divorce Decree →
Colombian Death Certificate →
Colombian Diploma →
Colombian Academic Transcript →
Colombian Police Record →
Colombian Single Status Certificate →
GOOD TO KNOW
Issuing Authority & Authentication
Civil records in Colombia are issued by the Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil (National Registry of Civil Status), with notarías (notaries) also authorized to register and issue civil records · official language(s): Spanish. Colombia has been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 2001, so its civil documents need only an apostille — not embassy or consular legalization — issued by the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería), which Colombia now generates as an electronic apostilla. The apostille authenticates the document's origin but does not replace the certified English translation USCIS requires.
Every document above is translated by a native specialist, reviewed by a second linguist, and delivered with a signed Certificate of Accuracy that USCIS accepts under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) — or we fix it free and cover your resubmission fee.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I also need to translate the apostille on my Colombian document?
USCIS wants an English translation of the full document you submit. The apostille from the Cancillería is a standardized international form that proves the record is authentic, but it does not replace the translation — the underlying Colombian record still needs a certified English version. We translate the record and note the apostille so the package is complete.
Why do both of my surnames matter on the translation?
Colombians carry a paternal and a maternal surname, and USCIS matches names across every document in a petition. We preserve both apellidos exactly as written, so 'Juan Carlos Gómez Restrepo' never becomes 'Juan Gómez' — a small change that frequently triggers a Request for Evidence.
What are the 'notas marginales' and do they need translating?
They are the annotations in the margin of a Colombian civil record noting later events — a divorce, a name correction, a recognition. They carry legal weight, so we translate every marginal note rather than just the main body, which keeps a marriage or birth record consistent with the rest of your evidence.
My registro civil is old and handwritten — can you still translate it?
Yes. Older Colombian records, and pre-1938 church partidas, are often handwritten in archaic formatting. Our native-Spanish specialists transcribe and translate them, and per USCIS convention we mark anything genuinely illegible as such rather than guessing at the content.
How much does a Colombian birth certificate translation cost?
A standard one-page Registro Civil de Nacimiento runs about $15–25 at our $0.05 per word rate, with 24–48 hour turnaround and a signed Certificate of Accuracy meeting 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3). It is also backed by our USCIS Rejection Pledge — if a translation is ever rejected for accuracy, we fix it free and cover the resubmission fee. You can send it by email at info@translationhelpdesk.com for a free 250-word sample.