Sinhala to English translation

Old and new NIC numbers

The smart NIC carries a 12-digit number. The old number’s final V or X is dropped, a 0 goes before its last four digits, and the year of birth leads: 855420159V becomes 198554200159. The translation copies each number exactly as printed, so old and new can be matched.

Source: Department for Registration of Persons, Sri Lanka, FAQs (checked 19 September 2026)

Full names and the -ge name

Many Sinhala full names open with an ancestral name ending in -ge, such as Mudiyanselage, before the given names and surname, and a passport often shortens it. The translation keeps every part the document prints, spelled as your passport spells it, so a full certificate name and a shorter passport name can still be matched.

The Registrar General’s own translation

For a birth certificate in Sinhala, the Registrar General’s Department runs its own Sinhala-to-English translation service, which takes three working days. If you already hold one of its translations, ask the office reading your file whether it will accept it before ordering another.

Source: Registrar General’s Department, Sri Lanka, translate certificate of birth (checked 19 September 2026)

The whole licence

Both sides of the card, in full: name, NIC and licence numbers, date of birth, address, each vehicle class with its dates, any restriction, and the issuing office, including anything already printed in English.

Civil registration forms

Birth, marriage and death certificates column by column, with the registration number, the registrar’s name and every later amendment written in the margin.

School and examination records

School leaving certificates, examination results, degree certificates and transcripts, with every seal and signature marked where it appears. Text that cannot be read in the photo is marked in square brackets.