Swahili Translation Services
A certified Swahili translation is $54 per document at DHCTranslations, with the signed certification and the PDF included in that figure, and $0.12 per word once a document passes 400 words. A birth certificate is usually the first page in a file, because the name on it decides how every other document has to be written.
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Certified Translations
For USCIS, US courts, WES, ECFMG and CGFNS.
Quote Response
Same-day certified PDF delivery available for most documents ordered before 4pm ET.
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Upload your document or provide details below for a prompt human-reviewed quotation.
Prepared For Submissions To US Agencies & Credential Services
*Authority names are referenced as industry benchmarks of compliance. All official translation orders are processed directly through DHCTranslations.
Swahili documents we translate for US files
Birth certificate
The cheti cha kuzaliwa in full, with the registration number, the district office and all three names in the order printed.
Marriage certificate
The cheti cha ndoa, with the registrar's entry, the witnesses and the date the marriage was recorded.
Death certificate
The cheti cha kifo with the cause of death, the informant and the registrar's signature kept in place.
Police clearance
The cheti cha polisi as issued, with the period searched, the result and the office that ran the check.
KCSE certificate
A Kenyan KCSE certificate with the subjects, the grades and the grading scale set out as the council printed them.
Transcript
A school or university transcript, with every subject and mark, the credits and the grading explained in a note.
National identity card
A Tanzanian NIDA card or a Kenyan identity card, with the number, the district of registration and the photograph noted.
Passport
The biographical page and the machine-readable zone, reproduced rather than described, with the name split as printed.
Affidavit
A hati ya kiapo sworn before a commissioner for oaths, with the jurat and the signature block kept in place.
Medical records
Clinic letters, operation notes and vaccination records, with a Swahili diagnosis written out in full.
Can't find your specific document type?
We translate document types that are not listed here. Send us the document and we will confirm the price before you order: [email protected].
What a certified Swahili translation costs
Certified translations start at $54 per document: from $0.12 per word after the first 400 words into English, and from $0.14 per word for English into another language, with some pairs quoted higher.
Certification is the translator's signed statement, and it is included in the price.
A translation for USCIS, a US court or a US university is certified by the translator's signed statement, and nothing further is added to the quote.
$54
From, per document
$0.12+
Per word after 400, into English
How It Works: 3 Steps to a Certified Translation
A simple route from a phone photo to a certified PDF prepared for the receiving authority.
Send Your Document
Upload a clear scan or photo of every page, including seals and reverse sides.
- The complete document
- Language pair and deadline
- Who will receive it
Approve the Quote & Pay Securely
Review a fixed, itemized quote and pay through the encrypted gateway.
- Major credit/debit cards accepted worldwide
- Secure global payment gateway integration
- Instant invoice and receipt generation
Receive Your Certified Translation
Certified PDF, often the same day when ordered before 4pm ET, with printed copies available on request.
- Certification page and translator credentials
- Layout, stamps and seals mirrored
- Certification wording the receiving body asks for
What a certified Swahili translation is checked for
A USCIS officer, a credential evaluator or a state board of nursing reads three things: the whole text in English, a signed statement naming the translator, and a date. A Swahili certificate also carries a registration number and an office stamp, and both are reproduced where they sit on the page.
What the certification includes
- Signed statement of accuracy: the translator's name, signature and date, their CIOL or ITI membership number, our company stamp and our contact details.
- No invented surname: the three names are translated in the order printed and nothing is added, so the certificate still matches the passport when an officer puts the two side by side.
- Swahili months and offices: a month written as Januari or Agosti is given in English, and the office named on the stamp is translated rather than left as a set of initials.
- Certified PDF: the certified file is emailed at no extra cost, which is what a US filing accepts. A printed set can be arranged if a receiving body insists on paper, and is quoted per order.
Certified for
Prices are per document and start at $54 — see what a translation costs.
Most Swahili names have no surname, and that is where a US form goes wrong
Tanzanian and Kenyan certificates record a first name, the father's name and the grandfather's name in that order, and none of the three is a family name in the American sense. The table below sets each kind of record against the words the certificate carries and the office that issues it.
Birth certificate
- On the Swahili document
- Cheti cha kuzaliwa
- Issued by
- the registration agency in Tanzania, or the civil registrar in Kenya
Marriage certificate
- On the Swahili document
- Cheti cha ndoa
- Issued by
- the district registrar
Death certificate
- On the Swahili document
- Cheti cha kifo
- Issued by
- the district registrar or the hospital
National identity card
- On the Swahili document
- Kitambulisho cha NIDA
- Issued by
- the national identification authority in Tanzania
Police clearance
- On the Swahili document
- Cheti cha polisi
- Issued by
- the police, as a separate document
Secondary school certificate
- On the Swahili document
- Cheti cha KCSE
- Issued by
- the examinations council in Kenya
The three-part name is the part that goes wrong. An American form asks for a first name and a last name, so the father's name is often typed into the surname field and the file then disagrees with the passport. The translation prints all three parts in the order they appear and adds no surname of its own. Zanzibar also keeps its own registry, so a certificate issued there carries different office names from one issued on the mainland.
What our clients say
Rated 4.9/5 from 314 verified reviews for USCIS submissions, court filings and credential evaluations.
“My name on the certificate is my father's name, not my husband's, and the translation made that clear so the relationship evidence was not questioned.”
Fatuma H.
“The RITA certificate spelled my mother's name two ways on the same page, and the translator noted both instead of choosing silently, which is what the caseworker wanted explained.”
Amina J.
“The index number and the grading were carried across exactly, and the covering note about KCSE bands meant the university did not ask for a comparability statement.”
Joseph M.
The certification, the price and the turnaround are the same for Swahili documents sent from anywhere in the United States. Start with the page that matches what you need:
Frequently asked questions
DHCTranslations handles Swahili documents in the US, including cheti cha kuzaliwa birth certificates and KCSE certificates, and every translation carries a statement signed by the translator.
Birth and marriage certificates for a family filing, school certificates and transcripts for an evaluation, and a police clearance for an employer or a licensing board. Medical records come next, usually for a nursing or pharmacy board.
DHCTranslations charges $54 for a document up to 400 words, then $0.12 per word into English or $0.14 from English into Swahili. The signed statement is part of the price rather than an extra.
The three parts are translated in the order they are printed, with no surname added. If a US form demands one, the father's name is the usual choice, and the same choice is kept across the whole set.
USCIS asks for the complete translation and a signed statement under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), which every order here carries. The certificate itself has to come from the registry, and Zanzibar issues its own.
It is the police clearance, issued as its own document with the period searched and the result written on it. Each receiving office sets its own currency rule, so the issue date is translated exactly and the judgment is left to them.
Yes, with the subjects, grades and the grading scale intact. DHCTranslations explains the scale in a note rather than converting it into a US grade point average, because an evaluator makes that conversion.
Yes. Congolese certificates in Swahili, French or both are translated, and where a page carries two languages the whole page is translated rather than the half that looks useful.
A single page approved before 4pm ET is usually emailed the same day, and a set of four certificates takes about one business day. A long handwritten register is given a date in the quote.
Yes. DHCTranslations charges $0.14 per word from English into Swahili, and a native speaker writes the text rather than a template being filled in.
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