Korean Name Change Translation
Korean name change translation of the 가정법원 개명허가 결정 and the 기본증명서 entry that records it, certified into English for USCIS, a passport agency, a university or a bank. We also translate US name change orders and naturalization certificates into Korean for a Korean consulate, a 구청 or a court.
- 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 change of name records
A court decision and one line in the register
A Korean name is changed by a family court, never by marriage and never by a simple form. The trail is a court decision plus one line in the register, and some changes alter only the Hanja.
개명허가 결정 and the register entry
The applicant files at the 가정법원 and receives a 결정문 granting 개명, with the case number, the old and new names in Hangul and Hanja and the applicant's 본, the clan seat. Since a 2005 Supreme Court ruling the court grants most requests unless there is a bad purpose, so the decision is short. The applicant then files a 개명신고 at the 구청 within a month, and the 기본증명서 in its 상세 form shows the change with its date. A US recipient needs both, and we translate the decision and the certificate so the entry and the order match.
Hanja changes and the 인명용 한자 list
Many 개명 cases change only the characters, not the sound, so the romanized name before and after is identical and a US reader cannot see what changed. Given names must use characters from the Supreme Court's 인명용 한자 list, and a parent who registered a name outside it may have changed it for that reason alone. The translation shows Hangul, Hanja and romanization for both names and states in a note that only the characters changed. A child taking a stepfather's surname needs a separate 성·본 변경 petition, which produces its own decision.
Marriage, naturalization and the passport spelling
Korean women keep their surname at marriage, so a wife who took her husband's surname in the US has a 혼인관계증명서 and a Korean passport that still show her own. No Korean record will show the married name, and the translation does not add it; a translator's note can connect the two for a US reader. When a Korean citizen naturalizes in the US under a new name, the 국적상실신고 to the consulate carries the naturalization certificate in Korean, and that translation is where the two names are tied together. We translate those papers into Korean with a note linking both spellings.
Who is asking for your Korean change of name 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.
US passports and the Department of State
The Department of State wants the translation notarized. Add notarization at checkout and we handle the rest.
Banks, DMVs and Social Security
Offices updating your record to the new name accept a certified translation of the order, read next to the original. Some DMVs want it notarized as well, so check with your office first.
Before you upload
Three things that save a day of back and forth on a Korean change of name.
Send the court order or the registry act
A name change is proved by the judge's order, the deed poll or the registry entry that recorded it. Upload the document that made the change, not only an ID in the new name.
Show both names in the scan
The page that lists the old name and the new one is the page every recipient wants. Include the seal, the registration number and the back of the page.
Give us the English spelling of both names
Tell us how each name appears on your passport or other documents. The translation keeps the names as the order writes them and notes the spelling you use.
Details and pricing
What is included in a Korean change of name 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 change of name 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 Change Of Name FAQ
Most questions about pricing and turnaround can be answered faster by requesting a quote.
- USCIS asked why my Korean birth record and my passport show different names. What do I send?
- If the name was changed by a court, send the 개명허가 결정 and a 기본증명서 in the 상세 form, which lists the change with its date, and we translate both as one order. If only the romanization differs, there was no name change, and a translator's note on the certificate translation explaining the spelling is enough.
- Do you translate a US court name change order into Korean?
- Yes. A Korean bank, an inheritance case or a 구청 takes the order with a Korean translation, and a Korean citizen who changed their name in a US court usually also needs a Korean 개명 petition, since the US order does not change the Korean register by itself. We translate the order and the supporting papers the 가정법원 asks for.
- My name was changed as a child in the 1990s and it only shows in the old family register. Is that enough?
- Yes. Order a 제적등본 from the 구청 that held the family register. The 개명 appears as an entry with its date, the former name and the court, and the rest of the register shows the family around you. We translate the whole register, since the entry only makes sense beside the names it refers to, and the older mixed script is routine for us.
- 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
Change of name translation in other languages
Each of these pages is written for that language's change of name records.
Sending it with an application? Read the USCIS translation requirements, Certified translations before you order.