What is an apostille?
An apostille is an international certification (under the Hague Convention) that authenticates a public document — a birth certificate, marriage certificate, diploma — so another member country accepts it as genuine. It's issued by the "competent authority" in the country where the document was made, not where you're sending it.
When do you need a certified translation?
US immigration (USCIS) requires a certified English translation of any foreign-language document. "Certified" means the translator attests the translation is accurate and complete — not that they're government-licensed. For US cases, one translation page is usually counted at 250 words.
What it costs
Apostille fees are set per document by the issuing authority and vary widely by country. Certified translation is priced per page — a common online rate is around $25 per page for standard vital records, more for urgency or rare languages. Your real total is: (apostille fee × number of documents) + (translation per-page × pages).
Watch-outs
- Not every country is in the Hague Convention — some documents need consular legalization instead.
- Apostille the original or a certified copy, per the destination's rule — a plain photocopy is often rejected.
- Translate after apostilling so the apostille itself is included in the translation.