Korean Adoption Documents Translation
Korean adoption documents translation for the adoptees who came to the US from the 1950s onward and now need the orphan 호적, the agency file and the 제적등본 in certified English for an N-600, a passport, a birth family search or a court. We also translate US adoption decrees and naturalization papers into Korean for 국적회복 and the F-4 visa.
- 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 Korean adoption documents records
What a Korean adoption file holds
A Korean overseas adoption was arranged by a private agency and finalized by a US court after the child arrived. The Korean papers were built to make that possible, and some of what they say was assigned rather than recorded.
The orphan 호적 and the 제적등본
The agency registered the child as the head, 호주, of a brand-new family register with no one else in it, the so-called 고아호적, often under a name and a birth date the agency chose. That register was closed when the child left, and the 구청 now issues it as a 제적등본. It shows the 본적, the registration date, 부 미상 and 모 미상 where the parents were unknown, and sometimes a 기아 finding entry. The translation reproduces every entry and marks which fields the register itself says were unknown, so a passport agency or a search service reads it the way the registrar did.
Agency papers: Holt, Eastern, KSS and SWS
Most files come from 홀트아동복지회, 동방사회복지회, 한국사회봉사회 or 대한사회복지회 and hold an 입양동의서 or relinquishment, a child study with the background the agency recorded, a 기아발견 report for a foundling, a hospital or 조산원 birth record and a health and development sheet. Since July 2025 those records are held by the 아동권리보장원, which answers disclosure requests. Papers from the 1950s are dated in the 단기 era, so 단기 4291 is 1958, and much of the file is handwritten. We translate the handwriting, convert each 단기 date in brackets and leave an agency's guess labelled as a guess.
Citizenship papers in both directions
For an N-600 or a first US passport, the examiner wants the Korean papers that show who the child was before the US decree: the 제적등본, the agency consent and the Korean passport the child travelled on. Adoptees finalized after August 2012 also hold a 가정법원 입양허가 decision, since Korean law has required court approval since then. Going the other way, an adoptee applying for 국적회복 or the F-4 visa gives the Korean consulate the US adoption decree, the naturalization certificate and the US birth certificate, each with a Korean translation, which we produce and certify.
Who is asking for your Korean adoption documents 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.
Family courts and state registrars
A state court recognizing a foreign adoption, or a vital records office issuing a US birth certificate, accepts a certified translation of the decree, notarized where the clerk asks for it.
Central authorities and courts abroad
Adopting from another country, your home study and background checks usually need 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 Korean adoption documents.
Send the full adoption file in one order
The court decree, the consent of the birth parents, the home study and the child's new birth certificate are read together. One order keeps the names and dates consistent across all of them.
Include the stamps and the finality note
A foreign adoption decree is complete only with the court seal and the note that it is final. Scan the back of each page and any attached certificates.
Give us the child's name as it will be registered
Tell us the spelling the child's passport or visa application uses. The translation keeps the name as the record writes it and notes the English spelling.
Details and pricing
What is included in a Korean adoption documents 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 adoption documents 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.
Korean Adoption Documents FAQ
Most questions about pricing and turnaround can be answered faster by requesting a quote.
- I was adopted from Korea in the 1980s. Which documents does the passport agency or USCIS want translated?
- Usually the 호적등본 or 제적등본, the agency's consent or relinquishment paper and the Korean passport or travel document, plus any Korean-language page in the file whose purpose you cannot read. The US readoption or finalization decree is already in English. A 호적등본 is typically one or two pages, and each page of up to 250 words is $25. If you are not sure what a page is, send a photo and we will tell you before you order.
- The name and birth date on my Korean papers do not match my US records. Can the translation fix that?
- No, and it should not. Agencies assigned names to foundlings and estimated birth dates from a doctor's examination, and the register records what the agency filed. The translation reproduces each name and date as written, in Hangul, Hanja and romanization, and we add a translator's note tying the Korean name to the name on your US decree, so an examiner sees one child rather than a discrepancy.
- Can you translate my US adoption decree into Korean for a birth family search?
- Yes. The 입양정보공개청구 to the 아동권리보장원 asks for proof of who you are and that you are the adoptee in the file, which means your US decree, a passport and sometimes a name-change order, in Korean. We translate them into Korean and certify them, with the names on your US papers tied to the Korean name in the file.
- 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 Korean documents we translate
Adoption documents translation in other languages
Each of these pages is written for that language's adoption documents records.
Sending it with an application? Read the USCIS translation requirements, Certified translations before you order.