🇹🇯 Tajik Interpreter

You need a Tajik interpreter when a document issued in Tajikistan has to be submitted in Georgia, or the other way round - when a Georgian document has to be prepared for an authority in Dushanbe, Khujand or another city. TARGMANEBI translates civil status records, passports, educational, employment, commercial, court and medical materials from Tajik into Georgian and from Georgian into Tajik, and where needed we also prepare the text for notarization.

Documents from Tajikistan have one particular feature: two languages often sit together on the same sheet. The form fields may be printed in Tajik and Russian, the seal only in Tajik, and an entry from the Soviet years entirely in Russian. That is why we start the work not with translating, but with working out the structure of the document: which text is the main one, which repeats it and which contains additional, independent information.

From Tajik into Georgian and from Georgian into Tajik

The documents most often translated from Tajik into Georgian are those connected with living, studying, working, marrying or starting a business in Georgia: birth and marriage certificates, passport pages, diplomas, employment certificates and company registration material. In the opposite direction we prepare extracts, powers of attorney, certificates and contracts issued in Georgia that you need to use in Tajikistan.

A receiving authority in Tajikistan sometimes needs a Tajik text, and sometimes Russian is enough. This difference has to be clarified before ordering, because preparing the two versions is different work. If you do not know in which language the document is required, ask the body where you will submit it directly; we will help you put the question precisely.

Tajik - the state language, Russian - the language of interethnic communication

Under Article 2 of the Constitution of Tajikistan, the state language is Tajik, while the same article refers to Russian as the language of interethnic communication. The coexistence of these two languages is reflected directly on official papers: on many forms the title and the field names are in both languages, some certificates are issued only in Tajik, and others also contain a Russian version.

A large share of the documents drawn up in the Soviet period and in the first years of independence are in Russian. Tajik place names, personal names and the names of local authorities still appear in such a document, so it needs knowledge of both languages. With us, Tajik and Russian are in one team, and you do not have to take a mixed document around different bureaus. For a document only in Russian, see the Russian interpreter page.

Tajik Cyrillic: six letters that do not exist in Russian

Tajik is written in Cyrillic today. Until 1928 the language was written in the Arabic script, from 1928 it switched to Latin, and from 1939 Cyrillic became established. The 1998 spelling reform removed the letters ц, щ, ь and ы from the alphabet, so the same word is sometimes spelled differently in old and new documents.

Tajik Cyrillic differs from the Russian alphabet by six additional letters: ғ, ӣ, қ, ӯ, ҳ, ҷ. A small "tail" at the bottom of a letter or a line above it changes how the word is read and, accordingly, the Georgian form of a name. On a low-quality scan, к and қ, х and ҳ or ч and ҷ are easily confused, so we compare personal names, streets and the names of institutions with the original separately and, where needed, ask for a better-quality photo.

Tajik and Persian: one language space, two scripts

Tajik is closely related to Persian and, together with Afghan Dari, forms a single language continuum; some linguists even regard it as a variety of Persian. In speech, Tajiks and Iranians mostly understand each other, but in writing the picture is different: Iranian Farsi is written in a script of Arabic origin, while Tajik is written in Cyrillic.

For official translation this difference is decisive. The vocabulary of Tajik documents has been influenced by the Russian administrative tradition, and the names of authorities and the forms of documents follow the post-Soviet system, not the Iranian one. That is why a document issued in Tajikistan is handled by an interpreter who knows Tajik Cyrillic, while for an Iranian or Afghan document see the Persian (Farsi) interpreter page.

A bilingual document: which text is translated?

When Tajik and Russian are written in parallel in one document, there are three ways. First: both texts are translated in full and the Georgian version notes that the original is bilingual. Second: one language is translated, and the presence of the other is recorded with a note. Third: one language is the main one, the other contains only some fields, and those fields are carried over separately.

The choice is determined not by the translator's convenience but by the requirement of the receiving authority and by whether the content of the texts matches. If the Tajik and Russian parts contain the same information, translating one with a corresponding note is usually enough. If one of the parts has a separate date, number or another form of the surname, it will definitely appear in the Georgian text as well. In any case, we tell you in advance which way we chose and why.

Which Tajik documents are translated?

Birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates

In Tajikistan, civil status records are registered by offices within the Ministry of Justice system, which Russian-language texts traditionally call the ЗАГС. Besides the city and district offices, the entry is often also made at the local, jamoat level, so a certificate may carry the name of either the district or the rural community.

When translating a certificate, we keep the record number, the date of registration, the series and number of the form, and also the fields for the parents' nationality and citizenship if they are on the form. A certificate issued again usually has two dates - the registration of the event and the issue of the duplicate - and mixing them up is unacceptable. In a divorce certificate we pay separate attention to the change of surname, and in a death document to the place and date of death, which are often needed for an inheritance case.

Tajik surnames: from -ов to -зода

In many Tajik families two forms of the surname are found at the same time. In the Soviet years the Russian endings -ов/-ова and -ев/-ева were widespread, while today Tajik forms are common: -зода, -зод, -пур, -фар and others. President Emomali Rahmon dropped the Russian ending from his own surname in 2007, and in 2016 amendments were made to the law on civil status registration that give preference to Tajik endings for ethnic Tajiks.

In April 2020 the lower house of parliament approved amendments under which the Russian endings of the surname and patronymic (-ов, -ев, -ович, -овна and similar) are no longer to be entered in the certificates of newborn ethnic Tajiks. This rule does not apply to national minorities and does not oblige adults to change their existing documents. In practice this means that the father's certificate may say "Раҳимов" and the child's "Раҳимзода", and both entries are lawful.

Passport, identity card and Latin transliteration

Because of this variety of surnames, one main rule applies in the translation: the person's first name and surname are written as they appear in Latin letters in their international passport. There are several systems for converting Tajik Cyrillic into Latin, and if the translator chooses their own scheme, a form may appear in the Georgian document that matches no official source.

That is why before translating we ask for a copy of the passport data page, even if the document to be translated is a completely different one. If the surname in an old certificate is in the Russian form and in the passport in the Tajik form, we do not correct this difference on our own: each form is recorded as it is in the source, and you may also need a change-of-surname certificate to confirm the link. See the details on the passport translation page.

Residence, employment and migration documents

Citizens of Tajikistan apply to various authorities in Georgia on residence, work or study matters, while citizens of Georgia need a Tajik or Russian version of a Georgian document to work in Tajikistan or to represent a company there. This group includes the employment contract, the employer's certificate, proof of income, the criminal record certificate and the registration of the place of residence.

In a migration case one person's data is repeated in several documents, so the name, date of birth and passport number must be written the same way in all the translations. For this we process one client's package with a single list of terms. For a criminal record certificate the date of issue also matters, because receiving bodies often ask for a recently issued certificate.

Company documents and the tax number

The documents of a Tajik company often include the state registration certificate, the charter, the founders' decision, the order appointing the director and the bank details. In the bank details the taxpayer identification number is marked ИНН in Russian and РМА in Tajik. In the translation the number is repeated exactly, and the abbreviation is accompanied by a Georgian explanation so that you do not confuse it with another registration number.

The name of a legal entity, as a rule, stays in the form of the original, while the organizational and legal form gets a Georgian equivalent. In contracts, amounts, currency, payment terms and the dispute resolution procedure are checked in a second reading. If a contract is drawn up in two languages and the texts differ, we tell you about it in a separate note.

Notarial documents of Tajikistan

In Tajikistan notarial acts are performed by state notary offices, which are part of the Ministry of Justice system; accordingly, a document often shows the seal of a state notary office and a register number. Such documents include a power of attorney, a parent's consent, a certificate of inheritance, a certified copy and a notarized translation.

When translating a power of attorney, the main thing is the accuracy of the list of powers: what the representative can do, for what term, and whether they have the right to pass the authority on to someone else. A Tajik notarial text is accompanied at the end by a certification inscription stating the notary's identity, the name of the office and the register number. This inscription is also part of the document and is carried over in full in the translation.

Apostille: Tajikistan since 2015, Georgia since 2007

Tajikistan acceded to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention on 20 February 2015, and the Convention entered into force for it on 31 October of the same year. For Georgia the Convention has applied since 14 May 2007. Accordingly, a public document of Tajikistan is, as a rule, authenticated in Georgia with an apostille instead of consular legalization.

According to the Hague Conference data, two authorities issue the apostille in Tajikistan. The Ministry of Justice authenticates civil status records, notarial and court documents, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs authenticates educational documents, criminal record certificates, legal entity registration certificates and archive certificates. If the apostille has already been affixed, the translation reflects its number, date and the position of the signatory. For a Georgian document, see the apostille page.

The 1993 Minsk Convention: what it means in practice

The Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters, signed in Minsk on 22 January 1993, regulates cooperation between the countries of the CIS area. Under its Article 13, a document drawn up or certified in the established form by a competent institution of one participating state and confirmed with a seal is accepted in the other participating states without any special certification. Tajikistan is among the signatories of this Convention.

However, whether this rule applies in a specific case depends on the type of document, on how the countries apply the treaty in practice and, above all, on the decision of the receiving body. That is why we cannot tell you in advance that you will not need an apostille at all. The safe way is to ask the authority where you are submitting the document whether it requires an apostille before the document is sent from Tajikistan. This way you avoid having to request the document again.

Notarization of a Tajik translation in Georgia

Georgian state authorities, notaries and banks often require a foreign-language document with a notarized Georgian translation. In this case the notary confirms the authenticity of the translator's signature but does not check the content of the translation - the translator is responsible for its accuracy. That is exactly why the quality of the text is no less important than the notary's seal.

The translation may be bound to a copy of the original or submitted on its own, depending on the requirement of the receiving body; sometimes the original also has to be presented to the notary. The details of the procedure are described on the notarized translation page, and when we accept the order we will tell you in what form your document is best prepared.

Diploma, school certificate and recognition of education

A school leaving certificate, a college or higher education diploma, an academic certificate and a transcript of grades from Tajikistan are translated for admission to a Georgian university, for continuing studies or for professional activity. In Georgia, foreign education is recognized by the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement, which reviews documents according to its own requirements.

When translating a diploma, the names of the speciality and the qualification, the list of subjects, the hours and the grading system require particular care. The apostille on educational documents of Tajikistan is affixed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so this stage has to be planned before the document is sent from Tajikistan. For more information, see the diploma translation page.

Medical, bank, property and court documents

Medical records - a discharge summary, a diagnosis, test results, a vaccination certificate - are often in Russian or on a bilingual form in Tajikistan, often with a handwritten part. In such a text we check the terms, units, doses and dates, and we do not fill in illegible handwriting by guesswork but mark it separately.

In bank statements the figures, currency and period are carried over unchanged. In real estate documents the address, the area and the owner's data are important, and in a court decision the case number, the name of the court, the operative part and the note that the decision has entered into legal force. The apostille on court acts of Tajikistan is affixed by the Ministry of Justice.

Soviet-era and archive documents

Old work record books, Soviet birth certificates, archive certificates and documents from the first years of independence are, as a rule, in Russian, sometimes with Tajik inserts. They contain the names of authorities of the Tajik SSR, old place names and administrative units that are called differently today.

In the translation we do not replace a historical name with the modern one: if the document has the old name, it stays and, where needed, an explanation is added in brackets. Deciphering a handwritten archive entry takes more time, so for such a document we will tell you the deadline after seeing the file. In Tajikistan, the apostille on archive certificates is within the competence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

How do I order a Tajik translation?

We usually prepare a standard document - a certificate, a passport, a statement - the same or the next day. A long contract, a diploma supplement or handwritten archive material takes more time, and we agree the exact deadline with you after seeing the file. Notarization is a separate stage, and its timing also depends on the notary's schedule.

Tajik translation in Tbilisi and remotely

The office is located in Tbilisi, at 118 Davit Aghmashenebeli Avenue, but coming to the office is not always necessary: we receive files electronically and hand over the finished translation electronically or at the office. This is convenient for those who are still in Tajikistan, or whose relative is sending them the document from Dushanbe.

If the translation has to be notarized and the receiving body asks for the original, we tell you in advance so that you can plan to bring the original in time. When taking a photo, place the document on a flat surface and do not crop the edges - part of the seal often falls exactly on the edge. For other Central Asian languages, see the Uzbek and Kazakh interpreter pages, and the list of all languages is on the interpreter services page.

Quality control in Tajik translation

• The first name and surname are compared with the Latin form in the passport;
• The additional Tajik letters are checked against the image of the original;
• Numbers, series, РМА/ИНН and dates are read a second time;
• In a bilingual document the Tajik and Russian parts are compared with each other;
• No seal, stamp, apostille or handwritten inscription is left untranslated;
• Old place names and the names of authorities stay in their historical form.

We read the finished translation again side by side with the original. If any entry is doubtful or hard to read on the scan, we contact you before handing over the final version and do not correct it by guesswork.

Frequently asked questions about Tajik translation