SOUTH KOREA · CERTIFIED TRANSLATION
Certified Translation of South Korea Documents for USCIS
Korean civil documents pose a specific challenge for USCIS filings: since 2008, South Korea has had no standalone Western-style "birth certificate" or "marriage license." Every vital fact instead lives in the computerized 가족관계등록부 (Family Relations Register) administered by the Supreme Court, and is pulled out as specialized certificates such as the 기본증명서 (Basic Certificate). Korean names are recorded surname-first and were historically written in Hanja (Chinese characters), so romanization must be kept consistent across a family's documents to avoid USCIS name-discrepancy issues. Older matters often require the pre-2008 제적등본 (archived family register), which can be handwritten vertically in mixed Hangul and Hanja — work our native-Korean specialists handle directly.
Updated July 11, 2026 · Reviewed by Victor Luján, Founder — certified translations since 2018
DOCUMENTS FROM SOUTH KOREA
Pick Your Document
Korean Birth Certificate →
Korean Marriage Certificate →
Korean Divorce Decree →
Korean Death Certificate →
Korean Diploma →
Korean Academic Transcript →
Korean Police Record →
Korean Single Status Certificate →
GOOD TO KNOW
Issuing Authority & Authentication
Civil records in South Korea are issued by the 가족관계등록부 (Family Relations Register), administered by the Supreme Court of Korea and issued through local Si/Gu/Eup/Myeon government offices · official language(s): Korean. South Korea has been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 2007, so its public documents are authenticated with a single apostille — issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Overseas Koreans Agency for government-issued civil records and by the Ministry of Justice for court and notarized documents — rather than U.S. embassy consular legalization. Note that USCIS itself requires only a complete certified English translation, not an apostille, on the documents you file.
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 South Korea issue a birth certificate for USCIS?
Not in the Western sense. Since 2008 Korea records births in the computerized Family Relations Register, and the document you submit to USCIS is the 기본증명서 (Basic Certificate) — ideally the detailed version. We translate it with a signed Certificate of Accuracy meeting 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3).
Do my Korean documents need an apostille or embassy legalization for USCIS?
USCIS itself does not require an apostille — it requires a complete, certified English translation. South Korea has been a Hague Apostille country since 2007, so if another authority in your case needs authentication, you obtain an apostille from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Overseas Koreans Agency or the Ministry of Justice, never U.S. embassy legalization.
My older family records are handwritten in Chinese characters — can you still translate them?
Yes. Pre-2008 제적등본 (archived family register) records are often handwritten vertically in mixed Hangul and Hanja (Chinese characters), and names were historically recorded in Hanja. Our native-Korean specialists read these older scripts and romanize names consistently with the rest of your filing.
How will my Korean name appear in the translation?
Korean names are written surname-first and can be romanized several ways (Kim/Gim, Lee/Yi/Rhee, Park/Bak). We match the romanization on your passport and other USCIS documents, then note the Korean original — heading off the name-discrepancy RFEs that commonly trip up Korean cases. A free 250-word sample lets you confirm the spelling before we finish.