How do you translate a Ukrainian name change certificate for USCIS?
If the name you use now isn’t the name on your documents, USCIS asks for the legal documents showing the change. A Ukrainian name change certificate (svidotstvo pro zminu imeni) is that document: a civil registry office issues it, or a Ukrainian consulate for people living abroad. We translate it in full, with the seal and signature, and spell the old and the new name the same way in every document of your order. One page is $25, ready within 24 hours after payment.
Who issues it
From 16, a Ukrainian citizen may change their surname, given name or patronymic at their own discretion; from 14, with the parents’ consent (Civil Code of Ukraine, Art. 295 (opens in a new tab)). The application goes to the civil registry office (DRATsS) where the person lives, or, for citizens living abroad permanently, to the Ukrainian embassy or consulate where they are registered. The office has three months to decide and may extend this by up to three months for good reason. A consulate has six months. Before the decision, the police check the applicant. After the permission, the applicant has three months to register the change (Resolution No. 915 of 2007 (opens in a new tab)).
On registration, the office issues a certificate of name change on the state form (Rules of State Registration of Civil Status Acts (opens in a new tab)). We translate every field, the seal, the signature and the series and number of the form.
Documents that change after it
- Civil status certificates. Where the change is entered into other civil records, Ukraine re-issues those certificates, and the earlier ones stop being valid (Resolution No. 915 of 2007 (opens in a new tab)).
- The passport. The registry office notes on the first page of a passport book that it must be exchanged within a month because of the new name (Rules of State Registration of Civil Status Acts (opens in a new tab)). How we translate that page: Ukrainian passport.
- The police certificate. For an immigrant or K visa, the Ukrainian police certificate must list every name you have used, and you have to ask for that when you request it (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)).
How we spell both names
The translation shows the name before and after the change. We spell both in Latin letters as in your foreign passport, or by Ukraine’s official transliteration (Resolution No. 55 of 2010 (opens in a new tab)) if a name never appeared in a passport. Tell us both spellings when you order, and they will match across the certificate, the re-issued certificates and the rest of your order.
Where the translation goes
- USCIS: if you or the person you file for use a name that differs from the documents, the Form I-130 instructions ask for copies of the legal documents showing the change (Form I-130 instructions (opens in a new tab)); the N-400 instructions ask for documentation of a name change too (Form N-400 instructions (opens in a new tab)). Documents for Form I-130
- NVC and US consulates: the Department of State doesn’t ask for a translation of a certificate in Ukrainian if you are applying for your visa in Ukraine. What NVC accepts
- Immigration court: a typed certification with the translator’s address and phone. What the court accepts
Our Ukrainian documents are translated and certified by a native Ukrainian speaker. What to file in your case is for you or your attorney to decide.
Sample translations
6 samplesEach sample has the original, the translation and the signed certificate. Personal details are blurred.
Ukrainian archive notice: no birth record foundOpen, 2 pages
Ukrainian certificate of termination of citizenshipOpen, 2 pages
Ukrainian birth certificateOpen, 3 pages
Ukrainian marriage certificateOpen, 3 pages
Ukrainian police clearance certificateOpen, 3 pages
Ukrainian birth certificate (duplicate, 2011)Open, 3 pages
Questions
Do you also translate the certificates re-issued after the change?
Yes. Each certificate is translated in full and priced by the page in the same order. Birth certificates have their own page: [Ukrainian birth certificate](/en/guides/ukrainian-birth-certificate/).
How much does it cost?
A name change certificate is one page: $25. Each additional page in the same order is $20, so the certificate with two re-issued certificates is $65.
Do I need a notary or an apostille?
Not for USCIS: it asks for the translator’s signed certification, and it’s included. If the certificate already carries an apostille, we translate the apostille too.
How long does it take?
1–4 documents: within 24 hours after payment; faster, within 12 hours (+$15 a page) or 3 hours (+$30 a page, paid between 8 am and 6 pm Pacific time). For 5 or more, we give you the date with the quote.
How we do it
- Full translation
every stamp, signature and handwritten line
- Signed certificate
with the translator’s name, address and phone
- A PDF, ready to file
original, translation and certificate, translation pages numbered
- Price
$25 for the first page up to 250 words, $20 for each additional page, in the same document or another one.
- Turnaround
1–4 documents: within 24 hours after payment; faster, within 12 hours (+$15 a page) or 3 hours (+$30 a page, paid between 8 am and 6 pm Pacific time). For 5 or more, we give you the date with the quote.
This is a summary of what the agency publishes, not legal advice.