# Death certificate translation template, free in Word

This death certificate translation template is a Word file with the fields a civil death record usually carries: the registry entry, the deceased, the date, place and cause of death, the informant and the burial or cremation, then a page for the translator's certification. Fill it in yourself, or upload the certificate and LoreAI returns the translation in the certificate's own layout.

## The template

The order follows a typical civil registry death entry. Remove the rows your certificate does not have and add rows for anything it has that the template lacks, such as a coroner's note or a later correction.

```text
TRANSLATION FROM [SOURCE LANGUAGE] INTO ENGLISH

DEATH CERTIFICATE

Issuing office (Civil Registry): ____________________
Book / Page / Entry No.: ____________________
Date of registration: ____________________

THE DECEASED
Full name: ____________________
Sex: ____________________   Age: ________
Date and place of birth: ____________________
Nationality: ____________________
Marital status: ____________________   Spouse: ____________________
Occupation: ____________________
Last address: ____________________
Father: ____________________   Mother: ____________________
ID or passport No.: ____________________

DEATH
Date of death: ____________________   Time: ________
Place of death: ____________________
Cause of death: ____________________
Certifying physician: ____________________   License No.: ________

INFORMANT (person who reported the death)
Name: ____________________   Relationship: ________

BURIAL OR CREMATION
Place: ____________________   Date: ________

Registrar: ____________________
Marginal notes: ____________________
Seals and signatures: [Seal: ________] [Signature of registrar]

(Translator's certification follows on the next page.)
```

## How to fill it in

1. Copy the deceased's name exactly as written, with both surnames where the certificate has two.
2. Translate the cause of death in full and keep the medical terms medical, for example acute myocardial infarction rather than heart attack.
3. Spell the month of each date out in words so day and month cannot be confused.
4. Name the informant and their relationship to the deceased as the certificate states it.
5. Put seals, stamps, signatures and handwritten entries in square brackets, and mark anything unreadable as [illegible].
6. Translate the back of the certificate and any apostille attached to it.
7. Sign the translator's certification on the second page. The wording is in the [certificate of translation template](https://www.loreai.org/certificate-of-translation-template).

## Where a death certificate translation goes

Death certificates from abroad end up with insurers, pension funds, banks closing an account, probate courts and USCIS, for example when a widow or widower continues a petition. Each of them reads the translation next to the original, so a translation in the same order as the certificate is quicker to check.

Countries lay the record out differently. A Mexican acta de defunción, a French acte de décès and an Indian death certificate put the cause of death, the informant and the burial in different places. LoreAI keeps your certificate's own order: upload the scan, and the Word file comes back translated with names, dates and numbers as written. Then add the signed certification page.

## Questions people ask

### Will USCIS accept a death certificate translated with this template?

USCIS does not approve templates. It asks for a complete English translation and the translator's signed certification of accuracy and competence. A filled-in template meets that when it covers the whole certificate and the certification is signed.

### Does the cause of death have to be translated?

Yes. A complete translation covers every field, including the cause of death and any physician's notes.

### Is there a template for a Spanish death certificate?

The [Spanish death certificate guide](https://www.loreai.org/death-certificate-translation/spanish-to-english) lists the fields of an acta de defunción in English. Upload the certificate to LoreAI and the Word file follows its layout.

### Can I use the template for free?

Yes. Copy the text above or download the Word file. Translating your own certificate with LoreAI is free for your first document.