Certified Translation Services in Singapore
A certified translation in Singapore is signed and stamped by a registered translation company. A notarised translation adds a Notary Public and a SAL apostille. Which one you need depends on who is receiving your document, not on the document itself. Certified starts at S$49.05 for one page, with GST.
Certificates and cards are priced on screen before you pay. You check a draft before anything is stamped.
What is a certified translation in Singapore?
Who is receiving your document?
The receiving authority decides the certification, so start with them rather than with the document.
ICA
For PR, citizenship, LTVP or a dependant pass. ICA asks for notarisation or embassy attestation. ICA’s own answer
MOM
For pass applications, upload the original and the English translation as one file. MOM does not ask for notarisation. MOM, documents required
Traffic Police
To convert a foreign licence, SPF asks for a Singapore registered translation company. SPF checklist
ROM and ROMM
For registering a marriage. A divorce certificate in Malay, Chinese, Tamil or Bahasa Indonesia needs no translation. Other languages need a certified translation. Notarising it is optional but can speed up checks. ROM on divorce certificates
Courts and law firms
Courts usually do not ask for notarisation. In some cases they ask for a translator’s affidavit instead, which we can arrange if they tell you that is what they need. The Courts also run their own service
Schools and universities
Some also want to see the original transcript
Outside Singapore
A few countries also want their embassy in Singapore to stamp it. Tell us the country
Not sure? Send us the letter you were given and we will tell you which one you need.
Certified, notarised or apostille?
Three different things, often confused. Certified is the company’s own stamp. Notarised adds a Notary Public. An apostille is what makes a Singapore document usable abroad, and Singapore has issued them since the Apostille Convention entered into force here on 16 September 2021, with the Singapore Academy of Law issuing them.
Certified
Signed and stamped by the translation company, on letterhead. Most employers, schools and the Traffic Police accept this.
A Notary Public checks the translator’s declaration and seals the bundle. Every notarisation we arrange includes the SAL apostille.
A certificate from the Singapore Academy of Law so another country can check the notary’s seal is real. Notary first, then SAL.
The older route a few countries still use. Notarise, apostille, then that country’s embassy stamps it.
Going to ICA? Add notarisation with SAL apostille, not certified on its own.
How much does a certified translation cost?
Prices include 9 per cent GST. Certificates and cards are priced per page, where a page is 250 words, and the front and back of a card count as two pages.
Notarisation with SAL apostille
S$222.20 per notary certificate.
Express
About 50 per cent more on the whole order, for about half the time.
Per page or per word?
Certificates, cards and short records are priced per page, so you see that price on screen. Documents that are mostly running text, like reports and contracts, are usually priced by word count, and a clean scan keeps that price down. For those we confirm the price after checking your file, before any work starts.
Already translated elsewhere?
We can notarise it. S$21.80 per document plus the notary costs.
How long does it take?
The notary cut off is 12 pm, Monday to Friday, and the notary is closed at weekends and on public holidays. We give you a delivery date before you pay.
You send the document
A clear scan is fine for most jobs.
We send a draft
About one working day for up to seven standard pages.
You approve it
The certified copy is usually ready the same working day.
Notary and SAL apostille
One to two working days after you approve, if notarisation is needed.
Check these three things
What we translate most often
Most document translation orders are one of a dozen types, which is why the price list is short and the delivery dates are predictable. If your document is unusual, send it over and we will tell you the price before any work starts.
Birth certificates
Marriage and divorce certificates
Household registers
Identity cards and passports
Driving licences
Academic transcripts and degree certificates
Police clearance certificates
Employment letters and payslips
Bank statements
Medical reports
Company incorporation documents
Affidavits and statutory declarations
How do you get the paper copy?
A certified translation is usually fine as a PDF, but a notarised bundle is a physical document and some authorities want the paper. Three ways to get it, and you choose at checkout rather than having to ask us.
SingPost
Free, three to five days, untracked. We cannot track it once it is posted.
Courier
S$19.62. One extra working day.
Collection
By appointment at Reception, #02-01, 139 Cecil Street, YSY Building, Singapore 069539. Anyone can collect with your name and the order number.
Converting a foreign driving licence? Order a hard copy. The Traffic Police want the stamped paper, not a PDF.
What you get that you do not get elsewhere
4.9 from 1,338 Google reviews, more than any other translation agency in Singapore.
Most of what goes wrong with a certified translation goes wrong before the translation starts: the wrong service for the authority, a price that moves, or a name spelled as it is not spelled in the passport. We handle those first.
A price before you order
Certificates and cards show a fixed price and a delivery date on screen, not a quote in three days.
You approve before anything is sealed
You see a draft first. Nothing is stamped or sealed until you say so.
Notary and apostille arranged for you
We book the notary and the SAL apostille through our notary partner. You do not have to find one or go there.
Translators working into their own language
With a second pass on names, dates and numbers, which is where documents go wrong.
We handle the whole chain
Translation, notary, apostille and courier. One order, and nobody for you to chase.
10 years in Singapore
Certified and notarised translation here since 2016, so we know what each authority asks for before you ask us.
Google rating and review count as at 27 October 2026.
Certified translation questions, answered
These are the questions our inbox gets most often. If yours is not here, send us the letter you were given and we will answer it directly.
Do you need my original document?
A clear scan is enough for most jobs. We will tell you if an original is needed, which is usually only when the receiving authority has asked to see it alongside the translation.
Does Singapore have sworn translators?
No. There is no government register of sworn translators and no court appointed translator system here, unlike France, Spain or Indonesia. Singapore uses a certified translation from a registered company, and a notarised translation with a SAL apostille when an authority needs more. If a form asks for a sworn translation, that is what is meant here.
Will ICA accept it?
Translations we notarise are accepted by ICA. ICA’s published position is that a translation by a private company is accepted when it is notarised or attested by an embassy, and that ICA does not endorse any private translation company. So choose notarisation with SAL apostille for ICA, and be careful of anyone claiming to be approved by ICA, because there is no approval scheme to be approved under.
What is the red ribbon bundle, and can I take it apart?
A notarised translation comes tied together with a red ribbon. Keep it as it is. Taking the pages apart voids the notarisation and you would need a new notary certificate.
My document is already translated. Can you just notarise it?
Yes. We review it, put it into a notary certificate and arrange the apostille. S$21.80 per document plus the notary costs. We need a good scan or the physical copy, not a phone photo.
Can one notary certificate cover several documents?
Often yes, for the same person, or for one family applying together, if the receiving authority allows it. Some embassies insist on one certificate per document. Tell us what you are applying for and we will set it up the way that authority wants.
My file is too big to upload.
Government upload portals often limit file size, which catches a lot of people. Send us whatever you have and we will return a smaller PDF that still meets the portal’s limit.
What happens to logos, seals and QR codes?
They appear as labelled placeholders, which is the standard and what authorities expect. The translation follows the source wording exactly, so the receiving officer can match it line by line against your original. If you really need the logo shown, ask us and we can place a plain image copy of it, clearly marked as an image taken from the original. We never emboss a seal or recreate one.
How do I pay?
PayNow, card or bank transfer. Put your order number as the payment reference.
Can I change my order after I place it?
Tell us within 30 minutes of the order confirmation, before translation starts, and we will change it. After that it depends how far along the job is.