PHILIPPINES · CERTIFIED TRANSLATION
Certified Translation of Philippines Documents for USCIS
Most Philippine civil records are issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on tamper-proof pink-and-blue Security Paper (SECPA), and because modern PSA forms are printed in English, a full certified translation is not always required — the real work is rendering the non-English portions USCIS still flags. Handwritten Local Civil Registrar copies, faded pre-2014 NSO documents, late-registration annotations, and marginal notes in Filipino, old Spanish, or regional languages such as Cebuano and Ilocano all need an accurate English translation. We also preserve the Filipino naming convention — where a person's middle name is the mother's maiden surname — so names on your PSA record match your passport and USCIS forms exactly. Every translation ships with a signed Certificate of Accuracy meeting 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3).
Updated July 11, 2026 · Reviewed by Victor Luján, Founder — certified translations since 2018
DOCUMENTS FROM PHILIPPINES
Pick Your Document
Filipino Birth Certificate →
Filipino Marriage Certificate →
Filipino Divorce Decree →
Filipino Death Certificate →
Filipino Diploma →
Filipino Academic Transcript →
Filipino Police Record →
Filipino Single Status Certificate →
GOOD TO KNOW
Issuing Authority & Authentication
Civil records in Philippines are issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA); local records held by the Local Civil Registrar / Local Civil Registry Office (LCRO) · official language(s): Filipino, English. The Philippines has been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 14 May 2019, so PSA certificates and court records are authenticated with a single apostille from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) — and since March 2026 PSA eCertificates can even receive a fully digital eApostille online, while printed SECPA copies and court records still use the standard hard-copy apostille — and accepted for use in the U.S. with no further consular legalization.
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 even need to translate my PSA birth certificate if it's already in English?
Often no. If every field, stamp, seal, and marginal note on your PSA certificate is in English, USCIS generally accepts it as issued. You need a certified translation when the record contains Filipino, old Spanish, or regional-language text, handwritten Local Civil Registrar entries, or late-registration annotations. We offer a free review to tell you exactly which portions, if any, require translation before you pay for anything.
Does USCIS require an apostille on my Philippine documents?
For a petition adjudicated inside the United States, USCIS does not require an apostille — it wants a legible copy plus a certified English translation with a Certificate of Accuracy. A DFA apostille or eApostille becomes relevant mainly when a document must also be recognized by a court or another government. For the USCIS filing itself, our certified translation is what carries the document.
How are Filipino names handled so they match my other documents?
We keep the Philippine convention intact — given name, middle name (the mother's maiden surname), then the father's surname — and transcribe every name exactly as printed. This prevents mismatches between your PSA record, passport, and Forms I-130 or I-485 that can trigger a Request for Evidence.
My marriage ended in the Philippines, but there's no divorce there — what do I translate?
Because the Philippines has no general divorce law, you will usually have a Regional Trial Court Decision or Decree of Annulment or Declaration of Nullity of Marriage (or, for Muslim Filipinos, a Shari'a court divorce). We translate the full court decree, including the dispositive portion, and any PSA-annotated marriage certificate that reflects the judgment.