Death certificates
Death certificate translation
When someone dies overseas, the certificate issued there is what Australian processes ask to see: a partner visa after being widowed, marrying again, an estate or superannuation claim, or registering the death here. We translate it in full — cause of death, informant, registrar and every stamp — and deliver a PDF by email, with NAATI certification available at checkout.
Does the death certificate need an English translation?
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Where it is asked for
The processes that ask for a death certificate in English
A death is registered where it happened, so the certificate you hold is usually in that country’s language. These are the authorities’ own words on what comes next.
Partner visas, after being widowed
“If you have previously been married, widowed, divorced or permanently separated, provide divorce documents, death certificates, separation documents or statutory declarations.” For a widowed applicant the death certificate is the document that line asks for, and if it is not in English the translation goes in the file next to it.
Source: Home Affairs, subclass 820 checklist (page last updated 10 August 2026)
Marrying again
If a previous marriage ended with a death, the death certificate is lodged with the Notice of Intended Marriage. NSW says “foreign language certificates and documents must be translated into English by a National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters accredited translator.” Queensland asks for “a certified copy of the original document” and “a translation by a translator certified by the National Accreditation Authority”.
Sources: NSW Government, getting married in NSW; Queensland Government, translating documents (updated 19 February 2026)
Registering an overseas death in Australia
Victoria puts it plainly: “If a Victorian resident dies overseas, you usually don’t need to register the death in Victoria. The death should be registered in the country where the person died. A death certificate is then generally issued by that country.” Where a Victorian registration is possible, the evidence list includes the overseas death certificate, and “for documents in a language other than English, provide an English translation by a qualified translator.” Each state and territory publishes its own rule, so read your registry’s page first.
Source: Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria, overseas deaths (updated 1 July 2026)
Getting the certificate in the first place
“A death is usually registered with local authorities in the country where the person died. Your funeral director will often be able to get the death certificate for you.” Consular staff may be able to give you a list of translators if you cannot find an English-speaking funeral service company, but the same fact sheet says they cannot “interpret or translate documents”. That part is done here, once you have the certificate.
Source: Smartraveller, death overseas fact sheet (last updated 13 June 2023)
Banks, superannuation funds, insurers and the court that grants probate each set their own rule for a document that is not in English, so ask the body that will read it before you order. If it is a visa or citizenship file translated in Australia, Home Affairs’ guidance is: “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.” Home Affairs, popular questions (page last updated 16 September 2026).
What a careful job includes
What your translated death certificate carries
The officer reading it is matching one record against another, so every entry on the certificate is carried across.
The person, in full
Full name as printed, with sex, date and place of birth, age, occupation, usual address and marital status where the certificate shows them. A name in another script is romanised to match the spelling on the other documents in your file; you tell us that spelling when you order.
Date, place and cause of death
The date and time of death, the place, and the cause exactly as stated. Medical terms are rendered in standard English medical terminology rather than interpreted, a cause given as a code is carried across as printed, and a certificate that shows no cause produces a translation that shows none either.
Informant, registrar and registration number
The informant’s name and relationship, the registrar or registry office, the registration number and the date of registration, and the date the certificate was issued. These are the fields an officer uses to tell a certificate from an extract, and an original registration from a later copy.
Stamps, seals and apostilles
The wording on registry stamps, embossed seals, an apostille or legalisation stamp and any marginal note is translated, and the translation follows the layout of the certificate as closely as it can. A signature is marked [signed], a seal with no readable words [seal], and a stamp that cannot be read [illegible] rather than guessed.
Extracts and medical certificates
Some countries issue an extract from a civil or family register, a medical certificate of cause of death, or a burial record rather than a single death certificate. We translate whichever document you hold, following its layout as closely as we can, and say what kind of document it is in the translator’s note. For other documents, see our certified translation services.
Dates and calendars
A date written in another calendar is converted, with the original kept alongside so the two can be checked against each other. Our guide to dates and calendars on translations shows how that looks on the page.
Ordering for a partner visa or citizenship application and translating in Australia? Home Affairs’ wording points to a NAATI-accredited translator — choose the NAATI certification option at checkout. NAATI translation in Australia sets out what the PDF carries. The free government translating service does not translate documents needed for a visa or citizenship application; for any other purpose, check whether you qualify before you pay for a translation.
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 with a digital stamp carrying a scannable QR code. A death certificate printed on one side is one page; a back that carries text, a stamp or a seal, a separate cause-of-death page and an apostille each count as a page of their own.
Divorced rather than widowed? Also need the marriage certificate translated? Preparing a partner visa?
Questions
Questions about translating a death certificate
Yes, if it is not in English. The subclass 820 checklist asks anyone who has been widowed to provide death certificates, and a certificate in another language goes in with an English translation beside the original. For a translation done in Australia, Home Affairs’ wording points to a NAATI-accredited translator, so choose the NAATI certification option at checkout.
Yes. Send whichever document you hold. If you have both a full certificate and a medical certificate or extract, ask the body reading your file which it wants before you order; Victoria’s registry, for one, lists an overseas death certificate or medical certificate of cause of death among the evidence it accepts. We say what kind of document it is in the translator’s note.
No. Clear photos or scans of every side that carries text, a stamp or a seal are enough for the translation. A certified copy of the original is a separate step that some registries ask for, Queensland among them, and you arrange that yourself.
Yes, exactly as the certificate states it, even where it is distressing. Nothing is softened or left out on request, because the reader compares the translation with the original. If the certificate you hold does not show a cause of death, the translation will not either.
A one-page certificate costs $39.99 as a Standard translation, or $39.99 plus $59.99 when it is prepared by a NAATI-certified translator, and delivery within 3 days is included. With a second page, such as a separate apostille or cause-of-death sheet, the totals are $79.98 and $199.96. A faster speed is charged once per order, not per page: $49 for 12–24 hours, or $99 for within 4 hours where a translator is free. All three times are estimates, and the order page shows the estimated date before you pay. We do not deliver on Sundays: a delivery that would fall on a Sunday arrives on the Monday. Up to four pages can be ordered online; a longer register extract is quoted through an enquiry first.
Order online, and the translation comes back by email as a PDF. Photograph or scan the certificate in colour, one image for each side that carries text, a stamp or a seal, including any apostille attached to it. On the order page, choose the language, then Other official document as the document type, because death certificates are not listed by name. Set the page count to match your images, pick Standard or NAATI certified and a delivery speed, and check the total before you pay. If a name is written in another script, send its passport spelling with your order number through the contact page before work starts.
The translation carries the certificate as printed, mistakes included, so check the original before you order. South Australia’s probate registry lists the details worth checking: “the names, addresses, place of death, date of death, marital status and details of children”. A wrong entry is corrected by the registry that issued the certificate, not by a translator, and a corrected certificate is a new original that needs its own translation. If a name differs from the passport spelling, send us the passport spelling with your order number; which spelling of a name goes on a translation explains why. An error in our translation is corrected and re-issued at no charge.
Whoever the court granting probate asks for: each court sets its own rule, and some ask for more than a translation. South Australia’s probate registry says “the translation must be by a qualified translator”, and that it “should be annexed to an affidavit of the translator” giving the translator’s qualifications and experience. What we deliver is a PDF translation, with a certification statement and digital stamp on the NAATI option; it is not an affidavit. Ask the probate registry, or the lawyer handling the estate, what your state’s court wants. If it wants a translator’s affidavit, ask us before you order, because an online order does not include one.
It can, when Services Australia is the one asking for the certificate. Its own page says: “We might ask you for a document when you claim a payment or service. If it’s not in English, we can translate it for free.” You tell staff you need a document translated when you call or visit. So for a Centrelink or Medicare claim after a death, ask Services Australia first rather than paying anyone, us included. That offer covers documents Services Australia asks for; a bank, a super fund or a probate registry sets its own rule.
Sometimes. TIS National’s Free Translating Service lists “a death certificate of an immediate family member” among the documents it translates, for permanent residents and eligible visa holders who are in Australia. Its limits matter here. It says “document translations required for visa or citizenship applications” are not eligible, which rules out a death certificate needed for a partner visa. It takes documents that “assist with employment, education, and community engagement”, and it does not provide translator affidavits for legal purposes. If your use fits, check every condition on our free translating service page before you pay anyone.
Yes. One side of every job has to be English, and it can be either side, so an Australian certificate can go into Italian, Greek, Chinese, Hindi, Spanish or another language on the order page, at the same per-page price. An office overseas may want a sworn translator in its own country, so ask it what it needs before you order. NAATI certifies translators in one direction, so a certified job goes to someone certified out of English into your language. An apostille, if one is asked for, comes from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, not from us.
Yes. Choose Spanish on the order page, and an acta de defunción from Mexico or any other Spanish-speaking country is translated in full. Three details get particular care on Spanish-language civil records. Both surnames stay, in the order the certificate prints them. Dates written day-month-year are given with the month in words, so they cannot be misread. Handwritten entries and notas marginales, the notes that record later changes, are translated with the rest of the record. There is more on Spanish to English translation.
It does not expire, and you can send the same PDF to each office that asks for one: the visa file now, the bank or super fund next month, a Notice of Intended Marriage years later. Keep the file, forward it as needed, and print it in colour for an office that wants paper. If you lose it, we re-send the finished translation at no charge. A reissued or corrected certificate is a different original, so it needs a new translation that matches it.
Sources checked 18 September 2026: Courts Administration Authority of South Australia, Grants — frequently asked questions; Services Australia, information in your language; TIS National, Free Translating Service eligibility.