Polish ID Card Translation
Polish ID card translation to English for USCIS, a bank, a notary, a court or an employer. We translate the dowód osobisty in every version Poland has issued: the e-dowód with a chip, the 2015 card, the 2001 card with the address on it, and the green booklet from before that.
- 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 Polish id card records
Four generations of the dowód osobisty, and what each one says
Every adult in Poland must hold a dowód osobisty, and the fields on it changed three times in twenty years, so the version decides what the translation can show.
e-dowód since 2019
The current card, issued from March 2019, carries a chip and, for cards issued after 7 November 2021, fingerprints and the holder's signature. The printed fields are the names, surname, nazwisko rodowe, the parents' given names, date and place of birth, sex, citizenship, the PESEL number, the card number, the issuing authority and the dates. There is no address. Field labels are in Polish and English, but the entries and the issuing gmina are not, and a reader needs the nazwisko rodowe explained as the surname at birth.
The 2001 and 2015 cards
The card issued from 2001 to 2015 lists the adres zameldowania, the registered address, together with the holder's height and eye colour and a signature. The 2015 card dropped the address, the height and the signature. People still use the older card as long as it is valid, and the address on it is often the point: a bank or a court wants the Polish address, and the translation gives it with the street and voivodeship spelled as printed.
The green booklet
Before 2001 the dowód was a booklet with stamped pages: successive registered addresses, employers and, for older ones, children entered by hand. A retired person's booklet can run to several filled pages. These turn up in pension claims, inheritance cases and citizenship files where a family needs to prove where someone lived. We translate every stamped entry with its date and office, and the booklet is priced by the text it holds rather than by its leaf count.
Who is asking for your Polish id card 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.
State DMVs and Social Security offices
An ID card offered as proof of identity or date of birth is accepted with a certified translation. A few offices want it notarized as well, so check with your office before you order.
IRCC
IRCC accepts a certified translation with the translator's affidavit. Order the certified translation and add notarization if your application guide asks for it.
Before you upload
Three things that save a day of back and forth on a Polish id card.
Scan both sides
The issuing office, the expiry date and the address are usually on the back. Upload the front and the back in one order so the translation covers the whole card.
Give us the spelling you use in English
The translation shows the name as the card prints it and notes the spelling on your passport or green card. Say which at checkout so the two documents match.
A phone photo works if every character is readable
Lay the card on a plain surface, avoid glare on the hologram and take one picture per side with the whole card in frame.
Details and pricing
What is included in a Polish id card 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 id card 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.
Polish ID Card FAQ
Most questions about pricing and turnaround can be answered faster by requesting a quote.
- Does USCIS accept a dowód osobisty as identification?
- USCIS asks for a passport or another government photo ID, and a dowód osobisty is one. A translated card is useful when the passport has expired or when the nazwisko rodowe on it proves a maiden name that other documents do not show. We translate the front and back on one page, and the card number, PESEL and dates stay exactly as printed.
- What is the PESEL number on my card, and does it need explaining?
- PESEL is the eleven-digit number every resident of Poland is assigned at birth or on registration. It appears on the dowód, the passport, the driving license and most civil acts, and a US reader often takes it for a card number. The translation labels it as the national identification number so the reader can match it across your documents.
- Can the mDowód in the mObywatel app be translated?
- The mDowód is a digital identity in the mObywatel app, valid in Poland since 2023, with the same data as the card but its own number and dates. A screenshot of it is not a document a US office will accept, and the physical card is the one to send. If an office in the United States has already accepted a printout of it, we translate what is on the printout and say so in the certification.
- 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 Polish documents we translate
ID card translation in other languages
Each of these pages is written for that language's id card records.
Sending it with an application? Read the USCIS translation requirements before you order.