EGYPT · CERTIFIED TRANSLATION
Certified Translation of Egypt Documents for USCIS
Nearly every Egyptian civil record is issued in Arabic by the Civil Status Organization (CSO) under the Ministry of Interior, and USCIS requires a complete English rendering of every seal, stamp, and handwritten marginal note. Egypt circulates documents in two very different formats — older handwritten "health office" certificates and modern computerized copies (mummakana) with the national eagle emblem, color-fade security printing, and barcodes — and even the bilingual Arabic-English computerized versions still need certified translation because only the field labels are pre-printed in English while names, dates, and notes remain in Arabic. Arabic naming conventions (a chain of the person's given name plus father's and grandfather's names) and dense Ruq'ah-script handwriting on Ma'zoun marriage and divorce contracts make consistent transliteration the single biggest source of RFEs for Egyptian applicants. Because Egypt is not an Apostille country, families also face a separate consular-legalization step that a certified translation does not replace.
Updated July 11, 2026 · Reviewed by Victor Luján, Founder — certified translations since 2018
DOCUMENTS FROM EGYPT
Pick Your Document
Egyptian Birth Certificate →
Egyptian Marriage Certificate →
Egyptian Divorce Decree →
Egyptian Death Certificate →
Egyptian Diploma →
Egyptian Academic Transcript →
Egyptian Police Record →
Egyptian Single Status Certificate →
GOOD TO KNOW
Issuing Authority & Authentication
Civil records in Egypt are issued by the Civil Status Organization / Civil Status Department (مصلحة الأحوال المدنية, Maslahat al-Ahwal al-Madaniyya) — Ministry of Interior · official language(s): Arabic. Egypt is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so its civil documents cannot be apostilled — they follow the consular legalization chain instead: first authenticated by Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then legalized by the U.S. Embassy/Consulate. Note that documents filed directly with USCIS generally need only a complete certified English translation; the legalization chain matters mainly for consular processing and other agencies.
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
Does Egypt issue apostilles for documents going to USCIS?
No. Egypt is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, so Egyptian documents cannot be apostilled. They are instead legalized through Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then the U.S. Embassy/Consulate. Importantly, documents filed directly with USCIS generally need only a certified English translation — legalization mainly matters for immigrant-visa consular processing and other agencies.
My Egyptian birth certificate is already bilingual Arabic-English. Do I still need it translated?
Yes. On Egypt's computerized certificates, only the field labels are pre-printed in English; the actual names, dates, official seals, and any marginal notes remain in Arabic. USCIS still requires a complete certified English translation of that Arabic content, accompanied by a signed Certificate of Accuracy.
How do you handle a handwritten Ma'zoun marriage contract?
Our native Arabic specialists read Ruq'ah-script handwriting and translate the entire contract — the religious preamble, the dowry (mahr), and any conditions — rather than summarizing it. Every certified translation includes a signed Certificate of Accuracy meeting 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), which is what USCIS looks for.
How much does it cost to translate an Egyptian birth certificate?
At $0.05 per word, a typical Egyptian birth or marriage certificate runs about $15-25 total, usually delivered in 24-48 hours. You can request a free 250-word sample first, and our USCIS Rejection Pledge means that if a translation issue ever causes a rejection, we fix it free and cover the resubmission fee.