Persian (Farsi) Interpreter and Document Translation

Persian documents often combine a different calendar, Persian digits, right-to-left tables, handwritten entries, seals and several forms of the same name. One person's name may appear in Persian, in Latin letters in the passport and in yet another transliteration in a third document. A good translation is therefore as much about keeping every data point consistent as about the words.

For every Persian document we check all pages, the shenasnameh entries, the national code, the card number, Shamsi dates, Persian numerals, seals, signatures, the Latin transliteration and the certification route the document will follow.

Main directions of Persian translation

Farsi and right-to-left writing

Persian uses an alphabet based on Arabic, with its own letters, pronunciation and vocabulary. Text reads right to left, while numbers, Latin codes, email addresses and document series often run the other way. In a scanned form this creates a real risk of misreading rows, columns and characters.

In translation each field is identified by the logic of the document, not just its visual position. "Shomare-ye melli" is the national code, "tarikh-e tavallod" the date of birth, "mahal-e sodur" the place of issue. Following the visual order alone is not enough, because in a right-to-left layout a number can end up next to the wrong field.

Iranian Farsi, Dari and Tajik

Persian covers a wide language area. The official form in Iran is Persian (Farsi); in Afghanistan Dari is widely used; in Tajikistan, Tajik is mostly written in Cyrillic. They are mutually intelligible, but official documents differ in terminology, names of authorities, identity formats and legal vocabulary.

If a document comes from Afghanistan or Tajikistan, tell us the issuing country when ordering. An Iranian shenasnameh, an Afghan tazkira and a Tajik passport are not the same kind of document; each has its own structure and data system, and lumping them together as "a Persian document" leads to mistakes.

Shenasnameh and Iranian civil status documents

The shenasnameh is Iran's basic civil status document. It can contain birth data, parents' details, marriage and children's entries, annotations and other registry information. Every filled page matters - translating only the photo and name page is often not enough.

National card, national code and passport

Iran's modern identity system uses the national card and a ten-digit national code (kod-e melli). The code is never translated or changed; it is copied character by character, as are the card series, validity data and place of birth.

An Iranian passport usually shows the name in both Persian and Latin letters. In an official translation the passport's Latin form is the main reference, especially for visas, residence, bank accounts and universities. We check the passport first, then the national card, the shenasnameh and other documents. If Latin spellings differ, the inconsistency is flagged before translation - the translation cannot change the originals, but it can show every form clearly. See passport translation.

Shamsi dates and Persian numerals

Iranian official documents mostly use the solar Hijri (Shamsi) calendar, whose years and months do not line up directly with the Gregorian calendar. Converting "roughly" by the year alone is not acceptable, because the result changes with the month and day. The source date is always kept; where useful, the Gregorian equivalent is added in brackets. Date of issue, date of birth, registration date, validity and consular certification date are kept distinct.

Persian digits look different from Latin ones, and zero, five and six are easily confused, as is the direction of a long number. Numbers are therefore checked in several stages: the national code and passport number against the source; dates split into year, month and day; bank numbers and amounts never rounded; figures inside seals or handwriting noted separately.

Official translation in Iran, Mikhak and legalization

For official use inside Iran, a translation may need to be made by an authorised official translator, with the translator's seal and signature confirmed by the relevant judicial body and then a final certification by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The exact chain depends on the document and its purpose. A notarized translation made in Georgia and Iran's internal official translation system are not the same procedure, so we first establish where the document goes and what form the recipient wants.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry's Mikhak system is used for many consular services - civil matters, passports, powers of attorney, document uploads and certification. An online application is often only the start; an in-person visit or the original may be needed later. We distinguish the applicant's form from the official document itself; a screenshot of an application does not replace a certified certificate or consular act.

Iran is not on the current list of parties to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. Iranian public documents therefore usually go through certification by the relevant Iranian bodies and consular legalization rather than an apostille. The exact route depends on the issuing body, the document type, the country of use, any bilateral agreement and the recipient's rules - do not use the word "apostille" for an Iranian document automatically. See apostille and legalization.

Diplomas, transcripts and SAJAD

Iranian university diplomas (daneshnameh), transcripts (riz-e nomarat), student status certificates and provisional certificates may need prior confirmation within the education system; the SAJAD system of Iran's Student Affairs Organization is used for various student services, including confirmations needed for official translation. The translation reproduces the university, faculty, programme, degree, period, credits, grades, thesis title and the document's unique code.

A free translation of a university name may not match its official English form, so the existing Latin name is always checked. A provisional certificate is marked as such, with any limitation it carries, and is not presented as a final diploma. See diploma translation.

Business, legal, medical, banking and vehicle documents

Seals, handwriting and damaged documents

Iranian documents often carry round seals, embossed stamps, ink additions or handwritten numbers. The translation notes each seal and reads its text as far as the source allows. If a page is cropped, shaded or missing its edges, we ask for a new scan before starting. An illegible phrase can be marked as such, but it is never guessed. For older documents a clear modern passport of the same person helps confirm names and numbers.

How a Persian translation order runs

Price and turnaround for Persian translation

Time and price depend on the number of pages, complexity, handwriting, tables, seals and certification. The price is by agreement and is confirmed once we have seen the document. See translation prices.

Assessment can be done remotely from Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi, Rustavi or abroad, which helps when a document has just arrived from Iran or the original is still on its way. For official certification the original or a physical copy may be needed later.

Frequently asked questions about Persian translation

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