Notarization for Certified Translations

What Is Notarization?

A notary public is a state-appointed official authorized to witness the signing of important documents. According to the National Notary Association, notarization is a fraud-deterrent process that ensures a document is authentic and can be trusted.

For certified translations, the notary's role is to verify the identity of the person signing the Certificate of Translation Accuracy—not to verify the translation itself.

Here's how the process works:

1. An authorized RushTranslate team member signs the Certificate of Translation Accuracy.
2. A Kentucky-commissioned notary public verifies the signer's identity and witnesses the signing.
3. The notary signs, stamps, and logs the notarization in accordance with Kentucky state law.

Notarizations performed by our fulfillment team in Louisville, Kentucky are legally valid in all 50 U.S. states. If you're submitting your documents internationally, you can also obtain an apostille from the Kentucky Secretary of State. This authenticates the notary and allows the notarization to be recognized in Hague Convention member countries.

Why Notarization May Be Required

While notarization isn't needed for all certified translations, some institutions do require it to further validate the document's authenticity. Notarization is commonly required by:

• Credential evaluation services
• Universities
• Consulates
• Courts
• Some government agencies
• Foreign countries

If you're unsure whether notarization is required, check with the organization that will receive your translation. Requirements can vary widely depending on the institution and purpose. For example, USCIS does not require notarization—only a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy—so adding notarization for immigration purposes is typically unnecessary.

If you're still uncertain, feel free to reach out. Our team may be able to provide guidance based on our experience working with a wide range of receiving institutions.

Notarization Can Only Be Performed by Us

Because notarization requires the notary and the signer to be physically present at the time of signing, all notarizations for RushTranslate translations must be completed by our team. This means:

• You cannot take the certification we provide and have it notarized elsewhere.
• We cannot notarize documents using a notary from a specific state other than Kentucky.
• This doesn't impact validity—all 50 states recognize notarizations performed legally in any other state.

Apostilles and Notarization

If you need an apostille in addition to notarization, keep in mind:

• Apostilles can only be issued by the state that commissioned the notary.
• Since our notarizations are completed by Kentucky-commissioned notaries, apostilles must be obtained from the Kentucky Secretary of State.

A Kentucky-issued apostille is fully valid and internationally recognized, just like one issued by any other state or country. If you need an apostille, we offer a convenient e-apostille option that can be added during checkout or when requesting a quote. Our team will handle the process for you to ensure everything is properly authenticated.

Digital vs. Physical Notarization

We offer both digital and physical notarizations to meet your needs:

• All notarized translations include a PDF copy that features digital signatures and stamps, secured using an X.509 digital document signing certificate. This certificate meets Adobe's trust standards and makes the document tamper-evident—if any changes are made after signing, the signature will show as invalid.
• If you request a hard copy, we'll also send the original document with wet ink signatures and stamps, which may be required by certain schools, consulates, or government agencies.

Please check with the receiving party to confirm whether they accept digital notarization or require a physical hard copy.

How the Notarization Process Works

Here's what to expect if you add notarization to your certified translation order:

1. We'll notify you when your translation is ready for review.
2. You must approve the translation before notarization can proceed.
3. Once approved, your order enters our notarization queue.

We notarize completed orders in batches Monday through Friday during standard business hours at our fulfillment office in Louisville, KY. Orders approved after the daily cutoff will be included in the next business day's notarization cycle.

Summary

Notarization adds an additional layer of validation to your certified translation, and in some cases, it's required. We handle the entire process in-house, using licensed Kentucky notaries, and offer both digital and physical delivery. If you need an apostille or have questions about whether notarization is required for your use case, contact our support team—we're happy to help.