French Divorce Decree Translation
French divorce decree translation to English for USCIS, a county clerk issuing a marriage license or a family court, from a jugement rendered by a juge aux affaires familiales, a convention de divorce filed with a notaire, a Québec jugement de divorce or a ruling from a tribunal in Belgium, Switzerland, Haiti or francophone Africa.
- Up to 250 words per page
- $25 per page
- Standard turnaround
- From 24 hours
- Certificate of accuracy
- Signed & stamped
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Written for French divorce decree records
Since 2017 most French divorces have no judgment at all
What a French person holds after a divorce depends on the year and the route, and the US reader has to be told what each paper is.
Divorce par consentement mutuel by acte d'avocat
Since 1 January 2017 a couple who agree on everything divorce without a judge. Each spouse has a lawyer, the two lawyers countersign a convention de divorce, and a notaire records it among his minutes. The marriage ends on the date of that deposit. The proof is the notaire's attestation de dépôt and, once requested, the mention in the margin of the acte de mariage and each spouse's acte de naissance. A clerk expecting a court seal sees a lawyers' agreement and a notary's receipt, so the translation names each paper and states the dissolution date plainly.
Jugement de divorce from the tribunal judiciaire
Contested divorces, and consensual ones where a child asks to be heard, go before the juge aux affaires familiales of the tribunal judiciaire, which replaced the tribunal de grande instance in 2020. The judgment ends with a dispositif, the operative part that prononce le divorce, rules on the children, the pension alimentaire and any prestation compensatoire, and often allows a spouse to keep using the married name. We translate the motifs and the dispositif in full and keep the two labelled, because a reader looking for the decree needs the dispositif.
Prestation compensatoire is not alimony
French decrees separate the pension alimentaire, the monthly contribution for the children, from the prestation compensatoire, a lump sum or fixed-term payment that evens out the drop in one spouse's standard of living. A US court reads alimony and child support differently, so the translation keeps both French terms beside a literal English rendering instead of forcing them into the nearest US box. The same goes for autorité parentale conjointe and résidence habituelle, which are not joint custody and physical custody by another name.
Who is asking for your French divorce decree translation?
The translation is the same. What changes is whether the recipient wants anything added to it.
USCIS
USCIS asks for a complete English translation and a signed certification from the translator. No notarization is needed.
Marriage license offices and courts
A county clerk issuing a marriage license, or a family court, needs to see the prior marriage ended. A certified translation of the decree is accepted, notarized where the office asks.
Registries abroad
To remarry or register a divorce in another country, the US decree usually needs an apostille and a translation into that country's language.
Before you upload
Three things that save a day of back and forth on a French divorce decree.
Send every page of the judgment
A decree is complete only with its reasoning, its resolutive points and the finality note or certificate. Pages missing from the middle leave the translation unable to show the divorce is final.
Add the registry act or the margin note
Where the divorce was recorded at a civil registry, the act or the note on the marriage record is often the page a clerk wants. Upload it with the judgment.
Tell us if only part was requested
If the recipient asked for the ruling alone, say so at checkout. Otherwise we translate the full document, which is what USCIS requires.
Details and pricing
What is included in a French divorce decree translation
One price per page covers the translation and its certification. A page is up to 250 words, and the quote tells you the page count before you pay.
Everything on the divorce decree is translated, including stamps, seals and handwritten notes. Tell us the English spelling you use for each name when you order.
Certified Translation
Word-for-word translation with a certificate of accuracy for official use.
$25
USD / page
up to 250 words per page
Included
- Signed & stamped certification of translation accuracy
- Certified by a professional translator
- Digital delivery via PDF
- Review and approve final translation
- 100% Guaranteed Acceptance
- Standard turnaround starting at 24 hours
Optional services
- Expedited turnaround
- Priority handling when your deadline is shorter than the standard turnaround.
- By deadline
- Notarization
- A notary public signs and stamps the certification statement.
- $20 per order
- Physical copy
- A wet-ink original of your translation, mailed by express courier.
- $35 per order
- Apostille
- Authenticates the notary’s signature and seal for use in Hague Convention countries.
- $180 per document
What the certificate of accuracy states
Your translation arrives with a Certification of Translation Accuracy issued by ImmiTranslate. It is the page the receiving organization checks first.
- The translation is complete and accurate.
- The document title and the language pair.
- The translator is competent in both languages.
- A signature and the ImmiTranslate certification stamp.
- Our American Translators Association corporate membership.
Our translation process
Our goal is to make the translation process as simple as possible for you. Our service is streamlined specifically for documents of this nature.
French Divorce Decree FAQ
Most questions about pricing and turnaround can be answered faster by requesting a quote.
- How do I prove the French divorce is final?
- For a judgment, the certificat de non-appel issued by the court's greffe after the appeal period, or the mention of the divorce in the margin of a fresh acte de naissance or acte de mariage, which the mairie adds once the judgment is definitive. For a convention by acte d'avocat, the attestation de dépôt is the finality document. Send that paper with the decree and we translate them together.
- My divorce was in Québec. Is it the same?
- No. Divorce in Canada is federal law, so a Québec divorce is a jugement de divorce from the Cour supérieure du Québec, in French, and the court issues a certificat de divorce once the judgment takes effect, normally on the thirty-first day. US clerks know the Canadian certificate but not the French jugement, so send both. The judgment carries the rulings on the children and support that USCIS does not need but a family court might.
- Can you translate a US divorce decree into French so I can remarry in France?
- Yes. A French mairie will want the decree and its proof of finality translated into French before it records the divorce on your French acte de mariage, and for a divorce from outside the EU the procureur de la République in Nantes may first have to check that the foreign judgment can be recognized in France. Ask the mairie or the consulate what it needs, including whether it insists on a traducteur assermenté, before you order.
- How much does a certified translation cost?
- Certified translation is $25 per page, with a page counted as up to 250 words. Notarization, a mailed physical copy and an apostille are optional and priced separately.
- How long does a certified translation take?
- Standard turnaround starts at 24 hours and depends on the length and language of your documents. If you have a deadline, include it in your quote request.
Other French documents we translate
Divorce decree translation in other languages
Each of these pages is written for that language's divorce decree records.
Sending it with an application? Read the USCIS translation requirements before you order.