French to English
French to English translation
Driver licences, actes de naissance, marriage records and other official documents translated from French into English and delivered by email — with a NAATI certification option for when the authority receiving it asks for it.
En français : Traduction du permis de conduire pour l’Australie
The short answer
Can I get a NAATI translation from French to English?
Yes. On the order page, choose French under Translate from and leave Translate to on English. The form starts on the NAATI option, so keep it. A NAATI-certified translator for French into English then prepares your translation. If we cannot find one, we tell you promptly and refund you in full.
What a French document needs
Three things a French document brings with it
French-language documents come from France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada and many African countries. Whichever country issued yours, we translate what is on the page.
EU-format licences with pictograms
France issues EU-format licences with category pictograms. A translation has to say in words what each pictogram and category code stands for, together with every date, condition and code printed beside it.
Marginal mentions on an acte
French civil-status documents — the acte de naissance, the acte de mariage and others — carry mentions marginales: notes added later to record events such as a marriage or a divorce. They are part of the record and must be translated, not left off because they sit in the margin.
Two names and day-month-year dates
A woman may be recorded under her nom de naissance (maiden name) with a nom d’usage (married name) beside it. We keep both and label each, so the reader knows which is which. Dates are written day-month-year, and the translation makes that order plain so day and month are never swapped.
Driving here on a French licence
Driving in Australia on a French licence
A French licence is not in English, so road authorities ask you to carry something alongside it. New South Wales puts it this way.
What the road authority says
“If your licence is not written in English, you must also carry an English translation, or an International Driving Permit.” It is one or the other, and either way the original licence card stays with you when you drive.
Source: NSW Government, visiting from overseas or interstate (checked 18 September 2026)
Picking up a hire car
The desk reads the translation next to the card, so the translation follows the card field by field. Our rent-a-car guide covers what the major companies say about overseas licences.
State by state
Each state and territory words its rule differently. The driver licence translation guide sets them out one by one, with the source for each.
What a careful job includes
What a careful French translation includes
Both sides of the licence, in full
Name, date of birth, licence number, categories, conditions and restrictions, issue and expiry dates, issuing authority, and every stamp or code — front and back, nothing summarised.
Names spelt as in your passport
French names already use the Latin alphabet, but accents, hyphens and a nom d’usage can all be written more than one way. We follow the spelling in your passport, so licence, acte and passport tell one story.
Stamps, seals and marginal notes
The wording on every stamp, seal and mention marginale is translated, in the order it appears on the document, so a reader with no French sees the whole record, later events included. Anything with no words, or that cannot be read, is marked in square brackets, for example [seal] or [illegible].
Queensland’s page says “The National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) has a list of approved translators” (Queensland Government, driving on an overseas licence, last updated 19 February 2024), and Europcar’s rental terms accept either an International Driving Permit or an English translation issued by NAATI (Europcar Australia, rental terms and conditions, clause 7.2, checked 19 September 2026). For driving or hiring a car, choose NAATI certification; where a road authority or a hire company names NAATI, it is the option that matches their wording. Our guide to an IDP or a translation explains the choice.
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. The NAATI translation page sets out what the option includes. Delivery is by email, and the order page shows the delivery options before you pay.
Translating an acte de naissance or an acte de mariage for a visa or a wedding here? See our birth certificate and marriage certificate pages, or the driver licence translation service for the state you are driving in.
Driving on a licence in French? Check your overseas licence in 1 second.