Certified Chinese Translation Services

PoliLingua provides certified Chinese translation services between Chinese and English, in both Simplified Chinese (mainland China) and Traditional Chinese (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau), for immigration, legal, academic and business use. Every certified translation includes a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy on company letterhead, accepted by USCIS, courts, universities and government agencies. Standard civil documents, notarial certificates (公证书), household registers (户口簿), birth and marriage records, diplomas, are typically delivered within 24–48 hours.

180 Professional Chinese (Traditional) translators
32,309 Chinese (Traditional) words translated
80 Chinese (Traditional) translation projects
Projects Management & Quality Control
Competitive Rates

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What You Receive

Every certified Chinese translation from PoliLingua includes:

A Complete Translation of the document, every field, official heading, registration detail, seal, red stamp (公章), handwritten note and annotation, formatted to mirror the original layout.
A Signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy on PoliLingua letterhead, with the translator's statement, signature, company seal and date.
A Digital PDF delivered by email, ready to upload to USCIS, a university portal or a court filing system.
Optional Hard Copy posted to your address, and optional notarization where an institution specifically requires it.

Nothing is summarised or omitted. Reviewers who don't read Chinese rely on the translation accounting for every stamp and seal on the page, so a partial translation is a common cause of rejection.

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Simplified or Traditional, Mandarin or Cantonese

Chinese isn't one written or spoken standard, and getting the variant wrong causes real problems.

Script - Simplified vs Traditional. Simplified Chinese is used in mainland China and Singapore, Traditional Chinese in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. A document from Taiwan and one from Beijing are written differently, and terminology and official designations differ too. We match each document to a translator native to the correct script and region.

Spoken - Mandarin vs Cantonese. For interpreting, subtitling and voice-over, the spoken variety matters, Mandarin for mainland China and Taiwan, Cantonese for Hong Kong and much of the Chinese diaspora. We assign linguists accordingly.

Tell us where your document was issued and where it's going, and we handle the rest.

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Request a Quote UK: +44 20 3807 5500

Chinese Notarial Certificates and Hukou Records

Two Chinese document types trip up generic translation services, and both are routine for us.

Notarial Certificates (公证书). Mainland China does not issue standalone birth or marriage certificates the way many countries do. Instead, a notary office issues a notarial certificate (公证书) that attests to the birth, marriage, no-criminal-record status or other fact, often with the Chinese original and an official translation bound together. USCIS expects the entire notarial certificate translated, cover, notary statement, seals and the record itself, not just the inner page. We translate the complete booklet.
Household Register (户口簿 / Hukou). The hukou extract is frequently submitted as supporting evidence of family relationships and residence. Every entry, stamp and registry annotation is translated, with names and relationships rendered consistently.

Translate Your Chinese Documents

Chinese Documents We Translate

Civil and Personal Records

公证书 - notarial certificates (birth, marriage, single-status, no-criminal-record)
户口簿 - household register (hukou)
出生证明 - birth certificate · 结婚证 — marriage certificate · 离婚证 — divorce certificate
身份证 / 护照 - national ID and passport
驾驶证 - driving licence, for licence conversion

Academic

学位证书 and 毕业证书 - degree and graduation certificates
成绩单 - academic transcripts, for credential evaluation

Legal and Official

无犯罪记录证明 - no-criminal-record certificate
授权委托书 - power of attorney
判决书 - court judgments
营业执照 - business licence, and company records

Translate Your Chinese Documents

How It Works

Send your Document. Upload a scan or a clear phone photo. It doesn't need to be the original, a PDF or photograph is fine, provided every page is legible, all four corners are visible, and the red stamps are clear.
Receive an Exact Quote Within One Hour. We confirm the page count, the certification format your receiving institution requires, and the delivery date in writing before any work begins.
Translation and Review. A native Chinese or English linguist in the correct script translates the document and a second linguist reviews it, as required under ISO 17100:2015.
Delivery. You receive the certified PDF by email. Hard copies and notarization are available on request.

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Turnaround Times

Document	Typical turnaround
1–2 page civil documents (notarial certificates, hukou, diplomas)	24 hours
Documents up to 10 pages	48–72 hours
Longer legal, technical or corporate files	Confirmed with your quote
Rush service	Same-day available on request

Turnaround begins once the document passes a legibility check and the quote is accepted. Red stamps and handwritten notes on older documents are a common legibility issue, if a page isn't clear we tell you before starting.

Will It Be Accepted? USCIS, Courts and Universities

USCIS requires a complete English translation of every foreign-language document, accompanied by a certification from the translator attesting to their competence and the accuracy of the translation. Our certified translations meet that requirement and are accepted by USCIS, federal and state courts, universities, credential evaluators and consulates.

USCIS does not require the translation itself to be notarized, certification is enough. Some consulates, courts and universities do, so we confirm what your institution requires before adding cost. The avoidable causes of a Request for Evidence are consistent for Chinese documents: an incomplete translation that skips the notary cover or seals, a name romanized differently from the passport, or a missing certification statement. We address all three as standard.

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Apostille and Legalisation

China joined the Hague Apostille Convention in November 2023, so mainland Chinese public documents for use abroad are now apostilled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or authorised local Foreign Affairs Offices, rather than going through consular legalisation. Hong Kong and Macau were already covered. If your document is apostilled and then translated, the apostille normally needs translating too. Tell us the destination and we confirm the correct sequence.

Business, Legal and Technical Chinese Translation

Beyond certified personal documents, we translate contracts and agreements, court filings, corporate and financial records, patents and technical manuals, websites and marketing content. China is the largest trading partner for much of the world, and commercial content is handled by translators with the relevant subject-matter background, in the correct script for the target market, with terminology kept consistent through a shared glossary. For campaigns and creative content aimed at Chinese-speaking audiences, see our transcreation services.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Does Certified Chinese Translation Cost? Certified Chinese translation is priced per word. Optional extras, notarization, hard-copy shipping and rush turnaround, are quoted separately. Upload your document for an exact quote within one hour.
Do You Translate Simplified or Traditional Chinese? Both. Simplified Chinese is used in mainland China and Singapore; Traditional Chinese in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. We match your document to a translator native to the correct script and region, based on where it was issued and where it's going.
Is Your Certified Chinese Translation Accepted by USCIS? Yes. Each certified translation includes a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy on company letterhead confirming the translator's competence and the completeness of the translation, which is what USCIS requires. Our certified translations are also accepted by courts, universities, credential evaluators and consulates.
How do I Translate a Chinese Notarial Certificate (公证书) for USCIS? Mainland China issues notarial certificates in place of standalone birth or marriage certificates. USCIS expects the entire notarial certificate translated, the cover, the notary's statement, all seals, and the record itself, not only the inner page. We translate the complete booklet and certify it for submission.
Do You Translate the Household Register (户口簿 / Hukou)? Yes. The hukou is commonly submitted as evidence of family relationships and residence for immigration cases. We translate every entry, stamp and annotation, keeping names and relationships consistent with the rest of your filing.
How Are Chinese Names Handled in the Translation? We match the romanization used on your passport, pinyin, Wade-Giles or another system, keep family and given names in a consistent order across your documents, and note the original characters where it helps the receiving authority verify the record.
Do You Provide Mandarin and Cantonese Interpreting and Voice-Over? Yes. For spoken services, interpreting, subtitling, voice-over, we assign Mandarin or Cantonese linguists according to your audience: Mandarin for mainland China and Taiwan, Cantonese for Hong Kong and much of the diaspora.

Do you Need Assistance?

We are here to support you in obtaining a relevant quote for complex document translation, website localization, PDF translation, software localization, and any other translation-related projects.

Request a Quote UK: +44 20 3807 5500