Amharic to English
Amharic to English translation
For Ethiopian families, partners and students who need a birth or marriage certificate, a kebele ID or a school record in English. Translated in full, delivered by email, with NAATI certification as an option.
What an Amharic document needs
Three things an Ethiopian document brings with it
Ethiopia keeps its own calendar, writes in its own script and names people without surnames. A translation has to carry all three across.
Ethiopian calendar dates
The Ethiopian calendar has thirteen months and runs seven to eight years behind the Western one, with its new year on 11 September, or 12 September in the year before a leap year. Each date is converted as a specific day, with the original kept in brackets. Dates and calendars shows how.
Given name, then father’s name
An Ethiopian name is a given name followed by the father’s given name, and often the grandfather’s. It is not a family surname, though a passport or an Australian form may file it as one. The translation labels each part and follows your passport’s spelling.
Fidel script and the kebele ID
Amharic is written in the Ge’ez script, and some documents use Ethiopic numerals, which the translation writes as Western digits. A kebele ID, issued by the local administration, is translated on both sides with its number, address and the issuing kebele.
For a visa or an Australian office
Who may translate, in Home Affairs’ words
Translating here
“All documents not in English must be translated into English. Translators in Australia must be accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters.” An Amharic document translated here for a visa should meet that, and the NAATI certification option does.
Source: Home Affairs, translating documents (page last updated 16 September 2026)
Translating in Ethiopia
For a translation made outside Australia, the partner visa checklist asks for the translator’s “full name; address and telephone number; qualifications and experience in the language they are translating”, and says “These details must be in English.” A home translation that shows them may be enough.
Source: Home Affairs, subclass 820 checklist (page last updated 10 August 2026)
Recently arrived on an eligible visa? Check the Free Translating Service for the documents it accepts. A document in Tigrinya or Oromo? See Tigrinya, or choose “Other language” on the order page.
What a careful job includes
Every date, every seal
Civil records
Birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates, with the registration office, the certificate number and every seal and signature. Dates in both calendars are shown where the document gives both.
Court and religious records
Court decisions and church or mosque marriage records are translated in full, with the names of both families and the witnesses as the document gives them.
School and university records
Certificates, national examination results and transcripts, translated table for table. Text that cannot be read in the photo is marked in square brackets.
Choose the NAATI certification option for a translation prepared by a NAATI-certified translator, carrying their certification statement, NAATI stamp and credential number. See the birth certificate and marriage certificate pages for those documents.
Pricing
The full price on screen before you order
Translation is $39.99 per page into English, delivered digitally. Add NAATI certification for $59.99 per page, prepared by a NAATI-certified translator and carrying their certification statement, NAATI stamp and credential number. Where the translator uses NAATI’s digital stamp, it carries a QR code you can scan to check the credential.
Delivery is by email and the order page shows the delivery options. Translating a licence only? Start at driver licence translation. Need a NAATI-certified translator? See NAATI translation in Australia. Other languages: Tigrinya, Somali, Arabic and Swahili, or see every language we translate.
Driving on a licence in Amharic? Check your overseas licence in 1 second.