Certified Polish Document Translation

We translate all types of Polish documents including birth certificates (akt urodzenia), marriage certificates (akt małżeństwa), death certificates (akt zgonu), academic diplomas (dyplom ukończenia studiów), school certificates (świadectwo szkolne), police clearance certificates (zaświadczenie o niekaralności), court judgments (wyroki sądowe), divorce decrees (wyroki rozwodowe), notarial deeds (akty notarialne), employment certificates (świadectwa pracy), business registration extracts (odpisy z KRS), medical records, and all other official Polish documents. We handle both modern computer-generated certificates and older handwritten civil registry records.

DoVisa provides certified translations with a signed certification statement attesting to accuracy and completeness. These certified translations are accepted by international authorities including USCIS, UK Visas and Immigration, IRCC (Canada), the Australian Department of Home Affairs, and credential evaluation agencies such as WES and ECE. For submission to Polish domestic authorities — courts, Urzędy Stanu Cywilnego (civil registry offices), the Urząd do Spraw Cudzoziemców (Office for Foreigners) — a sworn translation (tłumaczenie przysięgłe) by a registered tłumacz przysięgły is required under the Act of 25 November 2004. DoVisa can coordinate sworn translations through our network of Ministry of Justice-registered sworn translators upon request.

It depends on where you will submit the translation. For Polish domestic authorities — courts, civil registry offices (USC), the Office for Foreigners, voivodeship offices — Polish law requires a sworn translation (tłumaczenie przysięgłe) produced by a tłumacz przysięgły registered with the Ministry of Justice. For international use — USCIS (United States), UK Home Office, IRCC (Canada), Australian Department of Home Affairs, New Zealand Immigration, credential evaluation agencies, foreign universities, and private employers — a certified translation meeting the receiving authority's requirements is sufficient. DoVisa provides certified translations for international use and can coordinate sworn translations for Polish domestic submissions through our translator network.

Standard certified translation is delivered within 4-6 business days. Express processing is available for 2-3 business days, and rush delivery within 24 hours is offered for select document types including single-page vital records such as birth and marriage certificates. Turnaround times begin once we confirm document legibility and assign a translator. Multi-document projects and complex legal translations may require additional time depending on total page count and technical complexity. If you also need apostille processing, this adds 5-15 business days depending on the issuing authority.

We translate Polish documents to and from over 100 languages. The most frequently requested language pairs include Polish to English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Ukrainian, Russian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese. We also handle translations between Polish and less common language pairs. Every translation is performed by a linguist with specific expertise in both the source and target languages, as well as the relevant document type and subject matter.

Yes. Our certified translations of Polish documents are accepted by major immigration authorities worldwide including USCIS (United States), UK Visas and Immigration, IRCC (Canada), the Australian Department of Home Affairs, and Immigration New Zealand. Each translation includes the certification statement and translator credentials that these authorities require. Our current acceptance rate across all immigration submissions is 98.7%. In the rare event a translation is not accepted due to a formatting or certification issue, we revise and reissue at no additional cost.

Notarization requirements depend on the destination country and the specific authority receiving the document. For most immigration applications (USCIS, UK, Canada, Australia), certified translation without additional notarization is sufficient. Some countries and institutions require notarization of the translator's signature as an additional authentication step. Poland's domestic system uses the tłumacz przysięgły (sworn translator) seal and signature in place of separate notarization — the sworn translator's certification carries equivalent legal weight. DoVisa can arrange notarization of your certified translation if required by the receiving authority.

An apostille is a standardized certificate under the Hague Apostille Convention that authenticates the origin of a public document for use in another Convention member state. Poland has been a member since 14 August 2005. You need an apostille when submitting Polish documents to authorities in another Hague Convention member country that requires document authentication. The competent authority depends on the document type: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych) handles civil status documents, NAWA (Narodowa Agencja Wymiany Akademickiej) handles academic qualifications, and court presidents handle notarial and judicial documents. DoVisa manages the complete apostille process, with standard processing taking 5-15 business days.

Our Polish certified translation pricing follows a transparent per-page structure with volume discounts that apply automatically for larger documents. Pricing varies based on document length, language pair, and the processing speed you select (standard, express, or rush). Apostille processing through the relevant Polish competent authority is quoted separately. Upload your documents on our order page to receive an instant, detailed quote before work begins — no hidden fees or surprises.

Yes. We regularly translate handwritten Polish documents including older civil registry entries, historical parish records, and personal correspondence. Polish civil registry offices used handwritten entries for decades before the introduction of the electronic System Rejestrów Państwowych (SRP) in 2015. Our translators are experienced with archaic Polish orthography, partition-era records that may include annotations in Russian or German (from the period 1795-1918), and older cursive handwriting styles. For best results, upload the highest quality scan possible — we recommend at least 300 DPI resolution for handwritten documents.

You will receive your certified translation in two formats: a high-resolution PDF delivered via email for immediate use, and a physical hard copy with original certification shipped via tracked courier. The PDF includes a scanned copy of the signed certification statement. Many immigration authorities and credential evaluators accept the digital PDF for initial submissions. For apostilled translations, you will receive the original physical document with the apostille certificate attached. International shipping is available to all destinations with tracking provided.

Under EU Regulation 2016/1191, Poland issues multilingual standard forms (wielojęzyczne formularze standardowe) for certain civil status documents that can be used in other EU member states without translation. However, these multilingual forms are limited to specific document types and contain abbreviated information. For non-EU countries (United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, etc.), multilingual EU forms are not accepted and a full certified translation is required. Even within the EU, some authorities still request a complete translation for complex documents. DoVisa can advise whether your specific document and destination qualify for the multilingual form exemption.

Polish contains nine special characters with diacritics — ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ź, ż — that must be handled correctly in both directions of translation. When translating from Polish to English, personal names are transliterated according to the spelling shown on the individual's passport or official identity document. Place names follow standard international conventions (e.g., Łódź, Wrocław, Gdańsk). When translating into Polish, our translators apply correct diacritics throughout. The translator notes any transliterations or spelling variations in the certification statement to ensure clarity for the receiving authority.