Name or surname change certificate translation
Sworn translation of a name/surname change document so passport, residence card, civil acts and bank details stay consistent at Polish offices.
If one document shows an old surname and the passport already has a new one, the Polish office asks for a “bridge” — an official act or decision on the name change. It is translated under oath.
Name-change document translation for data consistency
Why this document if you already have a new passport?
To explain the mismatch with older acts.A birth certificate, marriage act or diploma may still show the previous surname. UW, banks and USC want the legal basis for the change — not only the new passport.
What exactly do we translate?
An authority / court decision or change certificate.It must show who is changing, from which name/surname to which, the date and the authority. If it is part of a wider judgment, we translate the relevant pages in full.
Link to the residence card
Card data must match the passport.After a surname change by marriage or by decision, UW may ask for both the marriage act and the name-change document — those are separate order pages.
Transliteration of the new name
We lock it as in the new travel passport.Otherwise later translations (children’s birth certificates, powers of attorney) diverge again. Send the new passport with the change certificate.
Does this replace a marriage certificate?
No.A marriage certificate explains a surname change through marriage. A separate name-change decision is a different legal basis. The office needs the specific document on its list.
Apostille
Sometimes for USC and court.If the document goes into the civil register or court, they may ask for an apostille from the issuing country. For bank data updates a sworn translation is often enough.
Languages for name-change document translation
We work both ways: a foreign document into Polish for offices in Poland, a Polish document into the destination-country language.
Documents from Ukraine for offices in Poland — the most common pair.
Soviet-era documents and those issued in Russia and Belarus.
Documents from the UK, Ireland, the USA, India and the UAE.
Polish documents for Ukrainian offices — certificates, extracts, rulings.
For foreign employers, universities and consulates.
For offices and banks in countries that require Russian.
Three types of translation — and when you need each
If the document goes to a public office — you need a sworn translation. Prices below are for Ukrainian, Russian and English; other languages are quoted separately.
When a name change is translated
The goal is to join the “old” and “new” surname in the eyes of a Polish office.
Match with the new passport at UW.
Urząd WojewódzkiAligning civil-status records.
USCExplaining a name mismatch.
Bank, notariuszDiploma under the old surname + new passport.
Uczelnia, pracodawcaApostille on a name-change document
Not always required: it depends on whether the office verifies authenticity of a foreign decision or only matches the name.
Who already ordered
All reviewsI sent a photo in the evening, had a PDF by morning, and the paper copy in Wrocław two days later. Urząd Wojewódzki accepted it without questions.
They asked to match the name spelling to the passport — I would not have thought of it. That is why the pack was accepted first time.
The amount quoted on Telegram did not change. Good when there are no “extra pages” at the end.
FAQ
These are the questions we hear most about this document.
Start with the marriage certificate. A separate name-change certificate is needed only if the office listed it specifically or the change was not through marriage.