Certified translation › Passport & ID card
Passport and ID translation is US$69 per document from a sworn, court-authorised German translator — for a bank, notary or authority that needs your identity document in German. Names are matched exactly to the ICAO machine-readable zone so they stay consistent across your file. A German, Austrian or Swiss authority accepts the certified translation with its signed certification statement. Fixed price includes certification and shipping.
Court-authorised translators · certification note under Section 142 (3) ZPO · passport spelling (ICAO) as reference · price includes postage
For many procedures abroad, yes. Banks, notaries, registries and authorities abroad often require a certified (Germany, Austria) or notarised (Switzerland) translation of your passport or ID card as proof of identity. Conversely, a German, Austrian or Swiss authority needs a certified translation of a foreign-language ID document that is not already in the local language.
A court-authorised translator renders every entry true to form and layout and matches the name spelling against the passport's machine-readable zone (ICAO). Important: an apostille is usually not placed on the ID document itself — more on that below.
The ID document proves identity and nationality. These are the situations — abroad or before German authorities — that most often call for a translation.
To open an account and pass anti-money-laundering (KYC) checks, banks abroad ask for a translated proof of identity.
Registries and notaries require a certified translation of a shareholder's ID to register or invest in a company.
For a wedding or civil-status matter abroad, the passport is translated as proof of identity and nationality.
Buying property or signing a power of attorney abroad, the translated ID belongs with the identification documents.
Universities and immigration offices ask for a translated proof of identity to enrol or process a residence matter.
German authorities, banks or employers require a certified German translation of a foreign-language ID document.
Your name has to be the same, everywhere.
Passport, ID card and certificates belong together — so we match every name spelling against the passport's machine-readable zone (ICAO).
A passport and ID card are identity documents, not issued civil-status certificates in the classic sense. An apostille is therefore, as a rule, not placed on the ID document itself. If a foreign body requires apostilled proof of identity, what is usually produced instead is a notarised copy of the ID.
That notarisation is a notarial deed — its apostille is issued by the president of the Regional Court (Landgericht) (in some countries by the ministry of justice), not by the translation provider. We then translate the ID, the notarial certification and the apostille together. Which countries the apostille applies to, rather than full legalisation, follows the Hague Apostille Convention.
| Germany | Austria | Switzerland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical use | Proof of identity abroad, or a foreign ID document for a German authority | Proof of identity abroad, or a foreign ID document for the Niederlassungsbehörde/MA 35 | Proof of identity abroad, or a foreign ID document for the cantonal Migrationsamt or a Swiss bank |
| Certified by | Court-authorised translator (ermächtigter Übersetzer) | Court-sworn translator (allgemein beeideter und gerichtlich zertifizierter Dolmetscher) | A translator signs to certify accuracy; a Swiss notary then certifies that signature |
| Legal basis | § 142 (3) ZPO | § 14 SDG | Cantonal notarial practice |
| Apostille (where required) | Issued by the president of the Regional Court (Landgericht), or the ministry of justice in some countries | Issued by the president of the Landesgericht, or the BMEIA for a federal-authority document; a notarised copy is often produced instead | Issued by the cantonal Staatskanzlei of the canton where the notarisation took place |
In every country the name is matched to the passport's machine-readable zone (ICAO); an apostille is rarely placed on the ID document itself.
If the receiving body wants an apostilled ID copy, the order is: notarised copy, apostille from the Regional Court president, then the certified translation of the copy, the notarisation and the apostille. That way everything is accepted on the first attempt.
United States
Unlike the state-issued birth and marriage certificates on this site, the US passport is a genuinely federal document: it is issued by the US Department of State through its Bureau of Consular Affairs, the same nationwide across all 50 states. That is why a passport rarely needs a state-level apostille at all — where a foreign authority wants an authenticated ID copy, the usual route (see above) is a notarised copy of the passport pages, apostilled through the ordinary state or notarial channel, not the passport itself.
The US has no national identity card. There is no federal agency issuing an ID card for everyday use the way many European countries do; the closest equivalent is a state-issued driver's licence or state ID card from that state's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) — a state, not a federal, credential, and a different office from the one that handles the passport.
That state/federal split matters if more than one of your documents needs authenticating at once. A federal document such as an FBI record is apostilled by the US Department of State, Office of Authentications in Washington, DC; a state-issued driver's licence or an ID card from a state DMV would instead go through that state's Secretary of State, if it ever needs one at all — a passport itself, being already federal, is not apostilled by either office. Two different documents, two different authenticating chains, and neither is the same as the certified translation itself.
Where a receiving office asks for a "certified" translation or copy, the US and German-speaking meanings diverge: per the American Translators Association, any competent person may sign a US certification statement, with no court appointment or exam behind it. A German, Austrian or Swiss authority is asking for its own country's authorised-translator system regardless.
Quality you only notice at the counter
An ID document is checked against names, numbers and security features. These are the most common pitfalls — and how a court-authorised translator avoids them.
| Pitfall | Why it is critical | How termbase solves it |
|---|---|---|
| Name from a non-Latin script "Germanised" by ear | If the transliteration differs from the passport or earlier certificates, the authority treats it as a different person — and the document is rejected. | Transliteration to the relevant ISO standard plus the ICAO passport spelling; any discrepancy is explained in the certification note. |
| Machine-readable zone (MRZ) ignored | The MRZ carries the authoritative name and document coding; skip it and there is no reference to check the entries against. | We match the visible entries against the MRZ and record the authoritative spelling. |
| Document number & issuing authority mistranscribed | Document number, issuing authority and validity identify the ID; errors make it unusable. | Numbers, authority and dates are transcribed completely and in the right position. |
| Date formats carried over unchanged | "03/04/2020" means a different date at home than in Germany — a wrong date of birth or expiry is critical. | Date and number formats are rendered unambiguously, with a translator's note where needed. |
| Security features & official markings left out | Missing endorsements, stamps or markings make the translation incomplete and unfit for certification. | Endorsements, stamps and markings are described and translated; anything illegible is flagged as such. |
| Expecting an apostille on the passport | The ID itself is usually not apostilled; waiting for one on the document costs time. | We explain the route via a notarised copy and the apostille from the Regional Court. |
Legal basis
Commonly called a "certified translation", the correct term is a confirmed translation (in German: bestätigte Übersetzung) — produced by a court-authorised (sworn) translator with stamp, signature and certification note. Under Section 142 (3) ZPO it is recognised nationwide before authorities and courts.
You receive the translation in advance as a PDF and then the certified original by post. For use abroad, we clarify in advance whether a notarised copy with an apostille is required, and whether the destination country only accepts a translation from a translator admitted there.
How it works
You upload a clearly legible scan of your ID card or the passport data page (including the machine-readable zone) and tell us the destination country and receiving body. We name a binding fixed price. Once you approve, a court-authorised translator renders every entry true to form and layout and matches the name spelling.
You receive the document in advance as a PDF and as a certified original by post. If an apostilled copy is required, we agree the sequence with you. On to the document upload.
Before you upload
With this information, a court-authorised translator can render your ID correctly straight away.
Not sure whether a copy with an apostille is required? termbase clarifies this with you before translating — so the form matches the procedure.
Use cases
The purpose decides the form and whether an apostille is needed. Three common scenarios.
Bank
Notary
German authority
We usually bill an ID card or passport data page as a flat fee per document. After a quick review we name a binding fixed price — certification, advance PDF and postal delivery included.
| Certified translation by a court-authorised translator | ✓included |
| Name transliterated & matched to your passport | ✓included |
| Certification note, stamp & signature | ✓included |
| Advance PDF & postal delivery of the original | ✓included |
| Quality assurance & final check | ✓included |
An ID card or passport page is usually billed at a flat fixed price; longer documents from US$1.05 per standard line (55 characters incl. spaces). We name the exact amount after a quick review. How the price is made up →
Common reasons for this translation: Naturalisation · Moving to Germany & residence. There you'll find the full document package with procedure and deadlines.
FAQ
Opening the account and registering my address both stalled on the same page of my Kenyan ID. termbase translated the identity page and the endorsements exactly as printed, including the lines nobody usually bothers with, and both counters took the same document.
Otieno Ochieng · logistics manager, Kisumu (Kenya) · passport and national ID → bank and registration office
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