Notarized and Certified Latvian Translation - Notarial Certification, Declined Names and the Georgian Notary

How Latvia certifies translations, and how Georgia does

Latvia has no register of sworn translators. Under the Cabinet regulations on document translation, a translation of a foreign document for official use is certified either by a zvērināts notārs attesting the translator's signature and identity, or by the translator's own certification - name, signature, date and a declaration of accuracy - for the many purposes where the regulations allow it, including most PMLP and university procedures; dzimtsarakstu nodaļas, courts and notaries generally want the notarial form. Georgia has the notarized translation certified by a Georgian notary attesting a registered translator's signature. Neither is accepted in the other country directly, but the systems are close cousins: our translation of a Georgian document into Latvian, certified by our translator, satisfies many Latvian offices as it stands, and where a Latvian notary's certification is required, a partner translator in Riga signs our text before a zvērināts notārs. A Latvian notarially certified translation is, from Georgia's point of view, a foreign notarial act; for use in Georgia the translation must be notarized here.

Latvian declension: why your name changes on Latvian documents

Latvian law requires personal names, including foreign ones, to be written in Latvian documents in a form that follows Latvian grammar, with a gender-specific ending added and the spelling adapted to Latvian orthography, so that a Georgian named Giorgi Beridze appears in Latvian as Giorgijs Beridze and his sister Nino as Nino Beridze with the original form recorded in a separate field; the PMLP, the dzimtsarakstu nodaļa and the universities apply this rule, and the Latvian residence permit card shows the Latvianized form. This causes confusion when the Latvian document later reaches a Georgian office, which sees a name that does not match the passport. We translate Latvian documents with the Latvianized form and its original in the passport form side by side, add a translator's note explaining the Latvian rule, and keep the Georgian spelling fixed on file, so registrars in both countries understand they are looking at the same person. In the other direction, we render Georgian names in Latvian translations with the correct Latvian ending and the original form, as the Latvian regulations require.

The PMLP and the Latvian Embassy: residence permits and visas

The Pilsonības un migrācijas lietu pārvalde (PMLP) issues Latvian residence permits for employment, study, family and business, and the Latvian Embassy in Tbilisi takes in applications and issues visas. Employment permits require the employer's registration of the vacancy with the NVA (State Employment Agency), the Georgian passport, the Georgian conviction certificate from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (apostilled, translated, valid for a limited period), proof of qualifications where the job requires them, and for family members marriage and birth certificates; study permits require the university's admission and proof of funds; and the PMLP accepts translations into Latvian certified by the translator for most documents, requiring notarial certification for civil status documents in some cases. We assemble the translated set to match the PMLP's list for your category, with your name's transliteration fixed and its Latvian form explained, and for employers sending groups we process the group as one project with per-worker rates.

Dzimtsarakstu nodaļa, zvērināti notāri, courts and the personas kods

Dzimtsarakstu nodaļas (registry offices) registering a marriage or a foreign birth are the strictest Latvian offices and require notarially certified translations of apostilled Georgian civil status documents; the nodaļa also handles the procedure for Georgians marrying in Latvia and issues the personas kods to foreigners on registration. Zvērināti notāri (sworn notaries), who handle property transactions, inheritance and powers of attorney, require notarially certified translations of foreign documents, as do the courts and the Zemesgrāmata (land register). The Valsts ieņēmumu dienests for tax, the VSAA for social insurance and the NVA for employment accept certified translations for many purposes. For all of these we prepare the Latvian text and arrange re-certification where required.

Latvian documents for Georgian authorities

Any Latvian-language document used in Georgia must be translated into Georgian and notarized here. The most frequent are pases, personas apliecības and vadītāja apliecības (translated from a photo, no visit needed), dzimšanas and laulības apliecības for marriage registration and family residence permits, the izziņa par sodāmību for residence permits, diplomi for work permits and recognition, Uzņēmumu reģistra izziņas, statūti and pilnvaras for company registration, darba līgumi and konta izraksti for proof of income, and izziņas from the VSAA or the Nacionālais veselības dienests. Latvian public documents must carry an apostille, which in Latvia is issued by any zvērināts notārs, before the translation is notarized; documents signed with eParaksts are translated from the digital file with the signature verified. We also offer e-Notary certification with a qualified electronic signature.

Marriage, family and residence files, and certified translation without a notary

Georgians marrying in Latvia present to the dzimtsarakstu nodaļa the Georgian birth certificate, a marital status certificate serving as izziņa par ģimenes stāvokli, proof of identity and, if previously married, divorce decisions, all apostilled and translated with notarial certification; the nodaļa sets a one-month waiting period. Latvian citizens marrying in Georgia present an izziņa par ģimenes stāvokli from the PMLP's population register, apostilled by a sworn notary, translated into Georgian and notarized. After a marriage in either country, the certificate is apostilled and translated for the other country's register, and Latvian spouses register Georgian marriages at a dzimtsarakstu nodaļa through the embassy.

Not every recipient needs the notary. Latvian universities for admission, employers, the NVA, landlords, insurers and online portals accept a certified translation with our agency stamp and translator statement, which is quicker and cheaper. Dzimtsarakstu nodaļas, notaries, courts, Georgian courts, registries, the Public Service Hall and banks do not. Tell us who will receive the document and we recommend the right level; a certified translation can be upgraded later without re-translating.

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