Certified Chinese Translation in the UK
We translate Chinese documents into English for use in the UK: visas and settlement, British passports, courts, universities and employers. Each translation is certified in the form UK authorities ask for and delivered as a PDF by email.
Documents come to us from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, in both Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Send a photo or scan and you receive a quote by email, usually within 30 minutes during business hours. Standard single documents start from £30.
Chinese documents we translate into English
For use abroad, many mainland Chinese documents are issued as notarial certificates (公证书) by a notary office rather than as the original record. Send whichever version you were asked for; if you hold both, send both.
- 出生医学证明 and 出生公证书 (birth certificate and notarial certificate of birth)
- 结婚证 and 结婚公证书 (marriage certificate and its notarial certificate)
- 离婚证 and 离婚调解书 (divorce certificate and court mediation statement)
- 户口簿 (household register), every page that carries an entry
- 居民身份证 (resident identity card)
- 无犯罪记录证明 (certificate of no criminal record)
- 毕业证书, 学位证书 and 成绩单 (graduation certificate, degree certificate and transcript)
- 银行流水, 存款证明 and 营业执照 (bank statements, deposit certificates and business licences)
What UK authorities ask for
The Home Office asks for a full translation of every document that is not in English or Welsh, and it must be able to verify that translation independently. HM Passport Office, the courts and universities ask for certified translations too.
Home Office guidance says each translation must contain:
- Confirmation from the translator that it is an accurate translation of the original document
- The date of the translation
- The translator's full name and signature
- The translator's contact details
How we handle the details in Chinese documents
Chinese documents raise a few questions that do not arise with other languages. These are the points we check:
- Names are written in pinyin exactly as in your passport, with the family name and given name clearly labelled
- Red official seals are transcribed and identified, because the seal is what makes a Chinese document official
- Dates written with 年, 月 and 日 are given as full dates, and addresses are kept in their original order with each administrative level labelled
- Simplified and Traditional Chinese are both handled, and names in Hong Kong and Taiwan documents keep their own romanisation rather than pinyin
- Every member's page in a household register is translated, including pages marked as cancelled or moved out
UK ENIC and academic documents
UK ENIC's Translation Waiver Service covers Chinese at no extra charge, so you can submit Chinese diplomas and transcripts for a Statement of Comparability without translating them.
The waiver applies to UK ENIC's own assessment only. A university, an employer, a professional regulator or the Home Office may still ask you for a certified translation of the same documents. These are UK ENIC's published terms for November 2026.
English to Chinese, for use abroad
Authorities in mainland China usually ask for a translation bearing the seal of a translation company registered in China, or one issued through a Chinese notary office. A UK document for use in China normally needs a UK apostille as well; China has accepted apostilles since November 2023.
Tell us the authority when you ask for a quote, and we will tell you what it normally accepts.
Prices and turnaround
Standard single documents such as a birth certificate, an ID card or a driving licence start from £30. Longer documents are priced by word count, and you see the exact price before you pay.
You receive your quote by email, usually within 30 minutes during business hours, together with the delivery time for your document.
Get a Free Quote
Upload your Chinese document and receive a free quote by email, usually within 30 minutes during business hours.
Frequently asked questions
Is your Chinese to English translation accepted by the Home Office?
Yes. It carries what Home Office guidance asks for: the translator's confirmation that it is an accurate translation of the original document, the date, the translator's full name and signature, and contact details.
Do I need to send the original document?
No. A clear photo or scan is enough. Send every page that carries text, stamps or annotations, including the reverse side.
My notarial certificate already has an English translation attached. Do I need another one?
Possibly not. Chinese notary offices often attach their own English translation to a notarial certificate. Ask the UK authority whether it accepts that translation; the Home Office asks for a translation that carries the translator's confirmation, date, full name, signature and contact details, so check that these are present.
How much does a certified Chinese translation cost?
Standard single documents start from £30. Longer documents are priced by word count. You receive the exact price by email before you pay.