# What do you need for a French birth certificate translation? For a French birth certificate translation, start with the right copy. A copie intégrale or an extrait avec filiation lists your parents and the marginal notes[1], which a visa file usually needs. The Home Office then wants a full translation, dated and signed by the translator, that confirms it is accurate[2], so use LoreAI's Word file as a draft for that translator. ## Which French birth certificate do you have? A French birth record is an acte de naissance, kept by the mairie of the town where you were born. You never get the register page itself. You get a copy or an extract of it, and the type decides what the translation can show. - **Copie intégrale**: Everything in the record, with your parents' names, ages, occupations and addresses and the marginal notes[1] - **Extrait avec filiation**: A summary of the same details about you and your parents, with the marginal notes[1] - **Extrait sans filiation**: Your name, date and place of birth and the marginal notes, without your parents[1] - **Extrait plurilingue**: An extract with its fixed headings printed in several languages, issued under CIEC Convention 16[3] Only you, your spouse or civil partner, your ascendants and descendants, your legal representative or an authorised professional such as a lawyer can order the first two[1]. Anyone can order an extract without parents. The request is free[1]. Ask the mairie of your birthplace, or the Service central d'état civil in Nantes if you are French and were born abroad, which takes about 30 days by post[1]. ## Can an EU form or a plurilingual extract replace the translation? Inside the EU, often yes. Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 lets you ask the issuing country for a multilingual standard form, attached to the birth certificate to avoid translation requirements[4]. With the form attached, the receiving office can ask for a translation only in exceptional cases[4]. France treats the form as a certified translation of the French record, and the mairie that issued the record fills it in for free[5]. The plurilingual extract works in the states bound by CIEC Convention 16, where it is accepted without legalisation[3]. France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Turkey are among the 24 states on the list[3]. Neither shortcut reaches the UK or the US. The regulation applies in EU countries[4], and neither country appears on the convention's list[3]. For a British or American office, plan on a translation of the French record. See the [guide to the plurilingual extract (in French)](https://www.loreai.org/fr/acte-de-naissance-plurilingue) for how to order one. ## Who certifies the translation for the Home Office? The Immigration Rules ask for the French original together with a full English translation that the Home Office can verify[2]. The translation is dated and includes: - a confirmation that it is an accurate translation of the original[2] - the full name and signature of the translator, or of an authorised official of the translation company[2] - the translator's or the company's contact details[2] - for leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain, certification by a qualified translator and their credentials[2] For a US immigration case the rule is similar. USCIS wants a full English translation that the translator certifies as complete and accurate, with a statement that the translator is competent to translate from French into English[6]. The [guide to certified translation in the UK](https://www.loreai.org/certified-translation-uk) covers who can sign. ## And when a French office needs an English certificate translated? The other direction has its own rule. A French authority that asks for a translation wants a traducteur agréé, an expert judiciaire on the list of a cour d'appel or the national list of the Cour de cassation[7]. Even when an EU document arrives with the multilingual form, the French office may still ask for a translation, and then it has to be made by a traducteur agréé[7]. Service-Public links an online search for these translators[7]. ## How French entries read in English - **Acte de naissance**: Birth certificate, or birth record when the copie intégrale is meant - **Né le, née le**: Born on. The ending shows the sex of the child - **Domicilié, domiciliée**: Residing at, the address of a parent or of the person named - **Officier de l'état civil**: Civil registrar, the official who signed the record - **Mentions marginales**: Marginal notes, later events written beside the record, such as a marriage, a divorce or a change of name - **Dates in words**: Older full copies often write the date out. Translate it in words, and keep any digits exactly as written Translate the marginal notes as well. The Home Office[2] and USCIS[6] both ask for a full translation, and the notes are part of the document. Keep names, the town and the département in French, with their accents. A town whose name looks like an ordinary word, such as Villeneuve or Bourg, should not turn into English. ## How to make an editable English draft 1. **Scan or photograph the certificate.** A PDF, JPG or PNG works. Include every page and the back if a note is written there. 2. **Create a free account.** Your first document is free, up to 3 pages and 3 MB. 3. **Choose OCR + Translate and pick English.** French is detected on its own. 4. **Check the Word file against the original.** Names, dates and numbers are written as they appear. Compare each one, then the places. 5. **Give the file to the translator who signs.** They can correct it in Word and add their statement, which can save them typing time. LoreAI is not a certified translation service and does not sign translations. The draft helps you understand the document and check the certified version you receive. ## Questions people ask ### Is a French marriage certificate translated the same way? Yes. An acte de mariage also carries marginal notes, and the EU has a multilingual standard form for marriage as well as for birth[4]. For the UK, the same Immigration Rules on translations apply[2]. ### Can I translate my own French birth certificate for a UK visa? The rules ask for the name, signature and contact details of the translator or translation company, and for leave to remain, certification by a qualified translator[2]. Check the guidance for your route before you sign your own. ### Which copy should I send with the translation? Usually the copie intégrale or the extrait avec filiation, because they name your parents[1]. Ask the office which one it wants before you order. ### Does the plurilingual extract work in the UK? The UK is not on the list of states bound by CIEC Convention 16[3], so a British office does not have to accept it without a translation. Ask the office first. ## Sources 1. [Service-Public.gouv.fr: Acte de naissance, demande de copie intégrale ou d'extrait (F1427)](https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F1427), accessed November 2, 2026 2. [GOV.UK: Immigration Rules part 1, paragraph 39B, specified documents](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-part-1-leave-to-enter-or-stay-in-the-uk), accessed November 2, 2026 3. [CIEC: Convention n°16 relative à la délivrance d'extraits plurilingues d'actes de l'état civil, states bound](https://ciec1.org/convention/convention-n16-relative-a-la-delivrance-dextraits-plurilingues-dactes-de-letat-civil/), accessed November 2, 2026 4. [European e-Justice Portal: Public documents, Regulation (EU) 2016/1191](https://e-justice.europa.eu/551/EN/public_documents), accessed November 2, 2026 5. [Service-Public.gouv.fr: Comment utiliser un acte d'état civil français à l'étranger ? (F1374)](https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F1374), accessed November 2, 2026 6. [8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), Translations, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-103/subpart-A/section-103.2), accessed November 2, 2026 7. [Service-Public.gouv.fr: Traduction d'un document, comment trouver un traducteur agréé ? (F12956)](https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F12956), accessed November 2, 2026 By Matt Mountain · Updated November 2, 2026