Criminal Record Certificate Translation with Notarization

Criminal record certificate translation is often needed when a person is preparing documents for submission abroad. You may need this document for a visa application, obtaining a residence permit, starting work, a citizenship procedure, a study programme, submission to an embassy or going through an administrative process at a foreign public authority.

A criminal record certificate is an official document that contains personal details, information on the issue of the document, the status and other important entries. That is why it has to be translated very accurately. Especially important are the correct transliteration of the first name and surname, the correct rendering of the date of birth, the name of the issuing authority, the document number, the date, the seal, the signature and every official entry.

When do you need a criminal record certificate translated?

A criminal record certificate translation is most often needed in international procedures. If the document has to be submitted to a foreign embassy, an immigration service, an employer, a university, a licensing body or another official authority, you will most likely need a translation, and often a notarized translation as well.

In some cases a criminal record certificate is needed when going abroad to work, especially when it concerns official employment, a state programme, a position involving children or the medical field, or a country where the employer asks for confirmation of a clean legal status. In such cases the translation of the document must be well prepared, formally correct and ready for submission.

• for a visa application;
• for a residence or citizenship procedure;
• for employment abroad;
• for submission to an embassy or consulate;
• for an immigration service;
• to enrol in a university or study programme;
• to obtain a licence or permit;
• for submission to a public authority;
• to send documents to an international organization.

Which languages do we translate criminal record certificates into?

TARGMANEBI translates criminal record certificates from Georgian into foreign languages and from foreign languages into Georgian. Clients most often ask for criminal record certificate translations into English, Russian, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Turkish, Greek, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, Arabic, Chinese and other languages.

The target language depends on the country where you have to submit the document. For example, for the USA, Canada or the UK an English translation is often used; for Germany a German translation may be required; for Italy, Italian; for Poland, Polish or English, depending on the requirement of the specific authority. If you are not sure which language you need, you can send us the receiving authority's requirement and we will help you determine it correctly.

If, on the contrary, you have a certificate issued in another country and you have to submit it to the Public Service Hall, a bank or a Georgian employer, see translation of a foreign criminal record certificate into Georgian.

A criminal record certificate is often requested in work or residence procedures where the language of the receiving country is set in advance. The specifics of how Norwegian and Portuguese documents are drawn up are described on separate pages.

Does a criminal record certificate need notarization?

Notarization is often needed when the criminal record certificate has to be submitted to an official authority abroad. A notarized translation gives the document an official form and is often mandatory for an embassy, an immigration service, a public body or an employer.

An ordinary translation may be enough only when the receiving party does not explicitly require notarization. However, a criminal record certificate is often used in important legal and administrative processes, so in many cases it is better to check in advance whether the authority requires a notarized translation.

Our team pays attention to every detail of the document: personal details, dates, the document number, the issuing authority, seals, signatures and the official form of the text. This is especially important, because a criminal record certificate translation is often used in procedures where a mistake can cause the application to be delayed.

Does a criminal record certificate need an apostille?

Whether an apostille is needed depends on the receiving country and authority. In some cases a criminal record certificate needs an apostille, in some cases a notarized translation is enough, and sometimes both are needed: certification of the document and then its translation in the appropriate form. That is why it is best to check first what the specific authority requires.

If the document has to be submitted to an embassy, an immigration service or a foreign public body, they may have specific instructions: whether the certificate must be newly issued, whether it must have an apostille, whether it must be translated into a specific language and whether it needs notarization. If you have such a requirement, you can send it to us and we will help you work out the right format for preparing it.

Apostille and legalization on a criminal record certificate

In visa and residence cases, a criminal record certificate often needs certification together with the translation, but the certification rules are not the same in every country. The rule is set by the receiving country, and one of three options applies:

• Apostille - if the country is a party to the 1961 Hague Convention. According to the Hague Conference (HCCH), as of June 2026 the Convention has 130 contracting parties, including every EU country, the USA, the United Kingdom, Canada and China;
• Consular legalization - if the country is not a member of the Convention, for example the United Arab Emirates or Qatar. After certification in Georgia, the certificate is also checked by the consulate of the destination country, so this route takes longer;
• Neither apostille nor legalization - for countries party to the 1993 Minsk Convention, for example Armenia or Kazakhstan. According to the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a document submitted in these countries needs no additional certification, although a translation is usually still required. For Ukraine the Minsk exemption no longer applies: Georgia and Ukraine are both parties to the Apostille Convention, so a document intended for Ukraine is normally apostilled - confirm this with the receiving authority.

On a criminal record certificate issued in Georgia, the apostille is placed by the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs itself, which issues the certificate. According to the agency's official page, the standard term for an apostille is 5 working days and the expedited term is 1 working day, although the expedited service does not apply to legalization countries. The apostille is placed on the original, and the translation is done after it: the translator translates both the certificate and the text of the apostille, because the receiving authority checks both as one package.

Before you order, we find out which rule applies to your country and authority, and tell you in what order and in how many days to prepare the package. If you already have the certificate with an apostille, we translate it as a whole and have it notarized. The details of both procedures are described on the apostille page and in the article apostille or legalization. Every step from obtaining the certificate to its translation is described in the article how to obtain a criminal record certificate and prepare it to be sent abroad.

Translation and certification of an electronic (QR-coded) certificate

The Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs also issues the criminal record certificate electronically. The application can be filed on the agency's website or in the SERVICE AGENCY app, and a link to the finished certificate arrives by short text message. Those who filed the application at a service center also receive the electronic form. That is why many clients hold not a paper certificate but a PDF file, which they print themselves.

The authenticity of a printed electronic certificate is checked on the agency's website, on the page "Verification of a certificate issued electronically", using the QR code on the certificate or the verification details. We check the certificate on this page before translating it. The partner notary who certifies the translator's signature can make sure in the same way that the printout matches a genuine certificate. This way an electronic certificate goes to notarization just like a paper original.

• send us the PDF file itself and not a screenshot, because the QR code often cannot be read on a photo;
• do not convert the file into another format and do not crop the pages, so that the verification details are fully visible;
• if you also need an apostille, request it from the agency for the same certificate. According to the agency, legalization or an apostille can also be requested for a certificate issued electronically;
• in the translation we carry over every element of the certificate, including the verification note and the position of the QR code, so that the receiving authority can easily match the translation to the original.

Criminal record certificate translation for a visa

In a visa application, a criminal record certificate may be one of the important documents. Different countries check applications differently, and in some cases they require a certificate confirming the person's legal status. In such cases the translation must be accurate, clear and in line with the required format.

When preparing documents for a visa, it is often not only the criminal record certificate that is translated, but also the passport, a bank statement, an employment certificate, a marriage certificate, a birth certificate and other additional papers. If you have the full package of documents, you can send them together and we will tell you separately for each one what format is needed. For the list of documents for US and Schengen work visas, see the article what documents Georgian citizens need for a US / Schengen work visa.

Criminal record certificate translation for work and residence

When taking up employment abroad or obtaining a residence permit, a criminal record certificate translation is often needed both for the employer and for a public authority. In some countries the document needs an apostille, while in some cases the employer asks for a notarized translation. Here the requirements may differ depending on the type of work, the country and the authority.

If you need the criminal record certificate for a residence permit, it is important to know how recent the document must be and in what form the receiving body requires it. Such documents often have specific deadlines, so the translation and the certification have to be planned in good time.

How do you order a criminal record certificate translation?

You can order a criminal record certificate translation online or at the office. The easiest way is to send a clear photo or scan of the document on WhatsApp, by email or through the order form on the website. Once we receive the document, we check the target language, the format of the document, whether certification is needed and the deadline.

• send us a photo or scan of the criminal record certificate;
• state the target language;
• tell us in which country or to which authority you have to submit the document;
• indicate whether you need notarization;
• if you have an apostille requirement, let us know in advance;
• if you need the document urgently, state the turnaround you want;
• receive the translation the same or next day.

The photo or scan of the document must be clear. The first name, surname, personal number or other personal details, the date of issue, the document number, the seal and the official entries must be legible. If any part is not visible, you may need to send a better-quality file.

How long does a criminal record certificate translation take?

A criminal record certificate translation is ready the same or next day. The certificate is usually one or two pages long, so the same turnaround also applies to the translation of the apostille page, if the certificate already has an apostille.

It is not the translation that takes more time but the state stages: the issue of the certificate and the apostille run on the terms of the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If you need the document for a visa application, an embassy appointment, a residence permit deadline or a work procedure, write to us with the appointment date and we will help you plan the stages correctly.

Pay attention to the validity of the document

A criminal record certificate reflects the person's status as of the day of issue, so it has a validity period, and this period is counted on two levels. According to the official page of the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the certificate is valid for 15 calendar days from the date it is produced. A foreign authority, however, counts the "age" of the certificate by its own rules and often accepts a certificate that is from 3 to 6 months old.

Requirements differ sharply. Czech embassies do not accept supporting documents older than 180 days for an Employee Card application, while the US Department of State has accepted police certificates for an immigrant visa for 2 years since June 2021. There is no single rule: the exact period is set by the receiving authority's instructions or the embassy's list of documents.

A translation does not extend the validity. The period is counted from the date the certificate was issued, not from the day of translation or notarization. So do not obtain and translate the certificate too early: if your embassy appointment is in four months and the authority does not accept certificates older than 3 months, a certificate obtained and translated today will already have expired on the day of the interview.

• find out how many days or months old a certificate the receiving authority accepts, and which day it counts from: the day the application is filed or the day of the interview;
• calculate the time needed: issue of the certificate 1-3 working days, apostille 1-5 working days, translation the same or next day;
• obtain the certificate so that this cycle finishes shortly before the appointment, with a small margin;
• if the appointment has been postponed, check the date of the certificate first. Instead of an expired certificate you will need a new certificate, a new apostille and a new translation.

Criminal record certificate translation online

Ordering a criminal record certificate translation online is very convenient. You can send us the document on WhatsApp or by email, find out what certification it needs, and receive the translation the same or next day. Ordering online is especially practical when you are in another city, are short of time or need several documents translated together.

A document received online is handled with the same responsibility as a paper brought to the office. We check the details, the format, the seals, the signatures and every official entry, so that the translation is accurate and properly prepared for submission.

Why choose TARGMANEBI?

Translating a criminal record certificate is a responsible process, because the document is often used for a visa, work, a residence permit, citizenship or another official procedure. TARGMANEBI works with personal, legal, educational, medical, technical and financial documents, so we understand well the importance of accuracy and format in official papers.

• we work in more than 14 languages;
• notarization is available;
• we offer apostille advice;
• you can send the document online;
• we protect confidentiality;
• the translation is ready the same or next day;
• we work in Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi and online across all of Georgia;
• we help you choose the right format for the document.

A criminal record certificate is issued under different names in different countries. The specifics of Maltese documents, including bilingual Maltese-English forms, are described on a separate page.

Frequently asked questions