Does a certified translation expire, and can you use it again?

NAATI answers the question directly on its page about translator stamps: “The expiry date on the translation stamp relates to the translator’s credential, not the validity of the translation.” And on the same page: “A translation from a NAATI-credentialed translator should include the date at which the translation was completed and the translation remains valid indefinitely.”

So a translation made in 2024 is not stale in 2026 because of its age. The catch is that it is tied to the document it was made from. Home Affairs, for one, asks for the two together: “You must submit both the original document (non-English) and the translated document.” A translation stays useful for exactly as long as the original it goes with, unchanged, is still the one you are handing over.

If your document has not changed, you probably do not need a new translation, from us or anyone. Keep the PDF with the original and use it again. Before you lodge it somewhere new, ask that office what it needs.

It can happen. In NAATI’s words, “a credential will expire after three years if the translator or interpreter chooses not to recertify.” NAATI’s advice to translators in that position is about new work: “once your credential has passed its expiry date, it is considered expired until a recertification application is lodged. During this time, you should not accept new work until your credential has been renewed.”

For work already done, NAATI describes what its own check shows. Scanning the QR code on a digital stamp shows the translator’s credentials, and: “Where a practitioner has expired credentials but the stamp was generated when they were active, this will still state that the digital stamp is valid but you will see current credentials as expired.” So NAATI’s check looks at the credential as it stood on the day the stamp was made.

The result to take seriously is a different one: “In the case the QR code has been disabled for fraud or misuse, or it has been forged the returned information will say Digital Stamp: Invalid.” If you see that on a translation you hold, from any provider, take it up with whoever supplied it. How to run the scan, and the directory check for a physical stamp, is in how to check a translator’s NAATI credential.

Same document, nothing changed, another application. The translation still describes it. One authority has written about re-use: in its advice for people applying from overseas, where it explains that “Your local embassy or consulate will check any translated documents”, the Australian Passport Office adds: “You can use your translated documents again for any future passport applications. You won’t need new translations made in Australia.” For any other office, ask it before you order again.

A renewed or replaced document. A renewed licence card or a new passport carries new dates, and often a new number, so it is a different document. The translation of the old one does not describe it. The driver licence translation and passport translation pages say what that means for each.

A reissued, amended or annotated certificate. If the registry has issued a fresh copy, corrected an entry or added a note in the margin, the version you hold now is not the one that was translated. Have the current one translated.

Pages added since. A translation covers the pages you sent at the time. Visas and entry stamps added to a passport afterwards, or a back page you did not photograph, are not in it.

Changed details. If your name or other details have changed and the new version of the document shows it, that document needs its own translation. A translation always matches its original; it never updates it.

A different option. If you ordered a Standard translation and a new office asks for a NAATI-certified translator, the old PDF carries no certification statement and no stamp. That is a new order under the NAATI certification option. What each option costs is on what NAATI translation costs.