Translating a foreign marriage certificate: price, procedures and mistakes to avoid
At DocuTrad, the certified translation of a marriage certificate costs €34 per page, delivered within 24 to 48 working hours in digital format.
Before ordering it, check which document your French authority expects: depending on your nationality and the country where you married, it is not always the foreign certificate itself.
Which document are you really being asked for?
One of you is French: the marriage can be recorded in the French civil register
A marriage celebrated abroad by a French national can be transcribed in the consular civil-status registers, at the request of the French spouse. This transcription is a French record, written in French.
For a declaration of French nationality by marriage, it is this transcription that service-public.gouv.fr (the official French administration website) asks for: "if your marriage was celebrated abroad, a copy of its transcription in the French consular registers".
That does not mean there is no translation: it simply comes earlier. To obtain the transcription, the consulate asks in particular for the birth certificate of the foreign spouse, legalised or apostilled depending on the country, and accompanied by its translation by a sworn translator if it is in neither French nor English. This is what the Consulate General of France in London asks, for example: check the list of the consulate handling your file.
Neither of you was French on the day of the marriage: the foreign certificate is the one that counts
Without a French spouse, there is no transcription. It is your foreign marriage certificate, accompanied by its translation, that you submit to the French authorities.
You then need a translation by a sworn translator, signed and stamped. You can have your marriage certificate translated online, from a simple scan.
Marriage celebrated in the European Union: the multilingual form
Since 16 February 2019, a European regulation allows a multilingual standard form to be attached to a marriage certificate issued in an EU country, if that country issues it: according to the e-Justice portal, "multilingual standard forms are not all issued in all EU countries".
With this form, the French authority "may require a translation of the public document only in exceptional circumstances". And if it nevertheless requires a certified translation, it is "obliged to accept a certified translation made in any EU country".
Do you need an apostille or legalisation?
It depends only on the country that issued the certificate. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes a summary table, updated on 15 September 2026, which gives the rule country by country for civil-status records submitted in France. It is this table that the Consulate General of France in London refers to, for example.
| Rule | Example countries |
|---|---|
| No formality | Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Madagascar, Vietnam, United Kingdom, Germany, Romania, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Turkey |
| Apostille | United States, Canada, Brazil, China, Russia, Ukraine, India |
| Legalisation | Egypt, Lebanon, Haiti |
For a country not on this list, look up its row in the table, column I, the one for civil-status records. The letters read as follows: D for an exemption, A for the apostille, L for legalisation.
Being exempt from apostille or legalisation does not exempt you from translation. A Moroccan marriage certificate needs no formality to be submitted in France, but it must be translated.
When an apostille or legalisation is required, obtain it first. According to service-public.gouv.fr, you should enquire "with the French embassy or consulate in the country concerned for legalisation, and with the embassy or consulate of the country concerned for the apostille". The authenticated certificate is then accompanied by its translation, as the London consulate's list requires.
Which certificate should you send to the translator?
The translator translates the document you send. So send exactly the one your authority asks for.
For nationality by marriage, service-public.gouv.fr is precise: "a civil-status record must be provided as a full copy and in the original, in the language of the country of origin". For another procedure, your list of documents states whether a full copy or an extract is required.
Send the complete document, front and back, with its notes and stamps.
How much does the translation of a marriage certificate cost?
At DocuTrad, the certified translation of a marriage certificate costs €34 per page. If your authority requires the paper copy of the translation, signed and stamped, postal delivery costs €15.
If your file includes other documents in a foreign language, such as the birth certificate of the foreign spouse, you will find the prices of the other documents in your file so you can order everything at once.
The mistakes that delay a file
Sending an extract when a full copy was needed, or the reverse. The type of certificate appears on your list of documents.
Having the translation done before the apostille or legalisation, when your country requires one. The certificate must first be authenticated, then translated.
Leaving out part of the document. The back, the notes and the stamps are part of the certificate.
Letting the date of the certificate slip. If your list of documents sets a maximum issue date, check it before starting the translation.
In practice
- Check on your list of documents which document is requested: the foreign certificate or its transcription, as a full copy or an extract.
- Check in the ministry's table whether the country that issued the certificate requires an apostille or legalisation, and obtain it first if so.
- Have the complete certificate translated by a sworn translator, then submit it in the requested format, digital or paper.
Frequently asked questions
Does the apostille also need to be translated?
Yes. Once affixed, the apostille is part of the certificate, which is submitted together with its translation. At DocuTrad, the translation of an apostille costs €27 per page.
Does my marriage certificate need to be recent?
For a declaration of nationality by marriage, service-public.gouv.fr asks for a transcription "issued less than 3 months ago". For other procedures, any time limit appears on your list of documents.
Sources
- French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, summary table of the current state of treaty law on legalisation, updated on 15 September 2026
- Service-public.gouv.fr, French nationality by marriage, checked on 1 May 2026
- Consulate General of France in London, list of documents for the transcription of a marriage certificate
- European e-Justice portal, public documents
