How to translate a document from Polish to English

Which Polish documents people translate

Most are civil records and school papers. An odpis aktu urodzenia or aktu małżeństwa for an immigration or citizenship file. A świadectwo dojrzałości and a university diploma for a job or a degree evaluation. A court ruling, a notarial deed or a letter from ZUS about a pension.

Poland's civil registry issues three kinds of birth record copies[2]:

Odpis skrócony

The short copy, showing the current content of the record[2]

Odpis zupełny

The full copy, an exact repetition of the record as first drawn up, with more information[2]

Wielojęzyczny odpis skrócony

The multilingual short copy, which gov.pl says needs no translation for matters abroad, issued on paper only[2]

Gov.pl lists 22 zł for a short or multilingual copy and 33 zł for a full one[2]. The full copy carries the most detail, so ask the receiving office which one it wants before you order.

How to translate a Polish PDF to English with LoreAI

1. Get a clear copy. Use the electronic copy from the registry or scan the paper. A straight phone photo of each page works too.
2. Type your email at the top of this page. The 6-digit code we send opens LoreAI. Your first document is free, up to 3 pages and 3 MB.
3. Choose English. LoreAI detects Polish on its own.
4. Download the Word file. The form's boxes come back as Word tables, label next to value, in the order of the original.

Polish terms and how they read in English

Urząd Stanu Cywilnego (USC)

Civil Registry Office

Kierownik USC

Head of the Civil Registry Office, who signs the copy

Nazwisko rodowe

Family name at birth, which matters for married women

Imiona rodziców

Parents' given names

PESEL

The national identification number, kept digit for digit

Wzmianki dodatkowe

Additional annotations, such as a later marriage or name change

Świadectwo dojrzałości

Upper secondary school-leaving certificate (matura)

Names keep every Polish letter: ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ź and ż. Grzegorz Wróbel stays Grzegorz Wróbel, never Grzegorz Wrobel, because the spelling has to match the passport.

Polish documents for USCIS

USCIS asks for a full English translation of any document in a foreign language, with the translator's certification that it is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate from Polish into English[1]. That applies to the multilingual copy as well when the office wants it in English, so translate the Polish labels and the stamp text too.

LoreAI is not a certified translation service. A person fluent in Polish and English reviews the Word file and signs the certification. The USCIS translation guide shows the wording. For a UK office, see certified translation in the UK.

Dates and grades

Polish writes dates day first, as 03.02.1990 or 3 lutego 1990. LoreAI keeps the numbers as written, so add the month in words for a US reader, who would take 03.02 as March 2. Polish school grades run from 1 (niedostateczny) to 6 (celujący). Keep the number and the word, and let the evaluator convert it.

Questions people ask