Acta / partida de nacimiento → Birth certificate
Mexican birth certificate translation for USCIS: template and field guide
The Mexican acta de nacimiento is issued as a certified copy by the civil registry of each state and, through the national portal, online. Here is how the document is issued, what to translate, how each field reads in English, and the certificate you attach.
How the document is issued in Mexico
Birth records are kept by the civil registry (Registro Civil) of each of Mexico's 32 federal entities. The national portal for certified copies is operated by RENAPO (Registro Nacional de Población, Secretaría de Gobernación) in coordination with those 32 state registries.
Official name of the document: “Copia certificada del acta de nacimiento” — in English, certified copy of the birth record. Keep the Spanish name in brackets the first time it appears in your translation.
Apostille: a separate step, not part of the translation
Mexico is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention of 1961 since 14 August 1995, so its public documents are apostilled rather than legalized through a consulate. Federal documents: Dirección de Coordinación Política con los Poderes de la Unión (Secretaría de Gobernación). State-issued documents: the authority designated by each of the 32 federal entities. The apostille is applied to the original in Mexico; it is separate from the translation and the USCIS translation rule does not mention it. Whether your case needs one depends on the form you are filing, not on the translation.
What USCIS requires
Under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), a document in a foreign language goes to USCIS with a full English translation, certified by the translator as complete and accurate, together with the translator's certification that they are competent to translate from that language into English. The rule names no credential and does not mention notarization.
What to translate
- ✓Translate the whole document: headings, every field, seals, folio and record numbers, marginal annotations and handwritten text. Mark what cannot be read as [illegible].
- ✓Proper names stay exactly as they appear on the original; they are not translated, corrected or adapted.
- ✓Dates are transcribed in the document's own format, noting the format (DD/MM/YYYY) when it differs from the US convention.
- ✓Keep the layout recognizable: one line of the original per line of the translation, in the same order, so the officer can match them.
- ✓CURP (Clave Única de Registro de Población): an 18-character personal code. Copy it exactly; do not translate or reformat it.
- ✓Entidad, Municipio and Oficialía identify the state, municipality and civil registry office that hold the record. Translate the labels, keep the place names.
- ✓Libro, foja/folio and número de acta are the book, page and record numbers of the entry. Keep every number as printed.
- ✓Copies issued online carry a verification code, a digital seal (sello digital) or a signature string. Transcribe them as printed and label them.
Translate it yourself, or have it translated?
The regulation does not say who may not sign the certificate; it asks the person who signs to certify their own competence and the completeness and accuracy of the translation. Common practice is to have someone who is not a party to the case sign: a bilingual relative or friend, a colleague, or a professional translator. Whether an officer will weigh a self-signed translation the same way is a judgment we cannot make for you.
If you would rather have a person translate and sign it, this site takes manual quote requests; the form is in Spanish and nothing is charged on it.
Field-by-field glossary for a mexican birth record: Spanish → English
Labels that commonly appear on Spanish-language birth records and how they read in English. Translate the labels your document actually has; copy names, codes and numbers as printed.
| Español (as printed) | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Acta de nacimiento / Partida de nacimiento / Certificado de nacimiento | Birth certificate (civil registry record of birth) | Keep the Spanish name in brackets the first time it appears. |
| Copia certificada | Certified copy | |
| Extracto | Extract (abstract of the record) | |
| Registro Civil | Civil Registry | |
| Oficialía / Oficina del Registro Civil | Civil registry office | |
| Oficial del Registro Civil / Juez del Registro Civil | Civil registry officer / civil registry judge | |
| Entidad / Estado / Departamento / Provincia | State / department / province | Keep the place name; translate only the label. |
| Municipio / Alcaldía | Municipality / mayor's office | |
| Localidad | Locality | |
| Libro / Tomo | Book / volume | |
| Foja / Folio | Page / folio | |
| Acta No. / Partida No. / Asiento | Record no. / entry | |
| Fecha de registro | Date of registration | |
| Fecha de expedición | Date of issue | |
| Datos de la persona registrada / del registrado | Registrant's details | |
| Nombre(s) | Given name(s) | |
| Apellido paterno / Primer apellido | Father's surname (first surname) | Never merge or reorder the two surnames. |
| Apellido materno / Segundo apellido | Mother's surname (second surname) | |
| Sexo | Sex | |
| Fecha de nacimiento | Date of birth | Keep the DD/MM/YYYY order of the original and note the format. |
| Hora de nacimiento | Time of birth | |
| Lugar de nacimiento | Place of birth | |
| Nacionalidad | Nationality | |
| CURP | CURP (Mexican population registry code) | Copy as printed. |
| DUI | DUI (Salvadoran identity document number) | Copy as printed. |
| Datos de los padres | Parents' details | |
| Padre / Madre | Father / mother | |
| Edad | Age | |
| Ocupación | Occupation | |
| Domicilio | Address | |
| Abuelos paternos / maternos | Paternal / maternal grandparents | |
| Compareciente / Declarante | Declarant (person who registered the birth) | |
| Testigos | Witnesses | |
| Anotaciones marginales | Marginal notes (annotations) | They are part of the document: translate them. |
| Sello | Seal / stamp | Describe it in brackets: [seal: Registro Civil de …]. |
| Firma | Signature | [signature] or [illegible signature]. |
| Certifica / Da fe | Certifies / attests | |
| Código de verificación / Folio electrónico | Verification code / electronic folio | |
| Cadena digital / Sello digital | Digital signature string / digital seal | |
| Vigencia | Validity |
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a certified translator for a Mexican birth certificate?+
8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) names no credential. The translator certifies competence in both languages and that the translation is complete and accurate.
Do I translate the CURP?+
No. The CURP is a personal code: copy its 18 characters exactly as printed and translate only the label.
Does USCIS require the apostille on a Mexican birth certificate?+
The USCIS translation rule does not mention the apostille; it is a separate procedure on the original in Mexico. Whether your case needs one depends on the form you are filing. If the document carries an apostille, translate that page as well.
Can a relative translate and sign it?+
The regulation does not say who may not sign. Common practice is a competent person who is not a party to the case. The certificate of translation template on this site has the wording the rule asks for.
Sources
- Gobierno de México — Acta de Nacimiento (official portal)
- HCCH — Competent authority for the apostille (Mexico)
- HCCH — Status table of the 1961 Apostille Convention
- eCFR — 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), Submission and adjudication of benefit requests (USCIS)
Not legal advice. We are not a law firm and we are not affiliated with USCIS or any government agency. The receiving authority decides whether a document is accepted.