Who can sign a certified translation?

What the signer is actually attesting

That they are competent in both languages, and that the translation is complete and accurate. That's the entire promise — and it's a real one.

The certification page is a short sworn-style statement with the signer's name, signature, date, and contact details. By signing, the person takes responsibility for the translation's accuracy. That's why the right signer is someone who will actually read the translation against the original before signing — the review is the substance, the signature is the record of it.

Practical implication: give your signer a translation that's easy to review. A clean, complete, field-by-field translation takes minutes to check; a loose paraphrase forces the signer to re-do the work or sign something they haven't verified.

Who qualifies — and who to avoid

Qualifying is about real language competence, not paperwork:

• Bilingual family members and friends — the most common DIY signers. Family relationship to the applicant is not a disqualifier for the signer role.
• Coworkers or community members who read the source language natively or near-natively.
• Teachers, clergy, or professionals who work in both languages.
• Avoid: anyone who can't actually read the source language (a signature without competence is a false attestation), and — as a matter of prudence, not regulation — the applicant themselves.

Why we recommend the signer not be the applicant

The regulation's text doesn't name a prohibition on translating your own document. But think about what the certification is for: it gives the officer an accuracy attestation they can rely on. When the person whose case benefits from the document is also the person vouching for its translation, the attestation is doing less work — and officers have discretion in how they weigh evidence.

Since the fix costs nothing (nearly every applicant knows at least one bilingual adult), the prudent DIY play is obvious: you handle the process; someone else does the certifying. This is the single most useful thing to know before filing a self-prepared translation.

Outside USCIS: agencies set their own rules

The competent-person standard above is the federal immigration rule. State DMVs, universities, and courts each set their own: a few states only accept translations from state-registered or credentialed translators, some want notarized signatures, and academic-credential evaluation is a separate industry with its own gatekeepers.

If your document is headed to a DMV, read our driver's license guide — and note that our order flow checks your state's rules at intake and will tell you plainly when a self-certified translation isn't the right fit there.