Will American authorities accept a Hebrew document translated into English by an Israeli notary?

Most families meet this problem travelling in the other direction, where an American translation is rejected in Israel. Going outbound, the failure is quieter and more expensive: an Israeli lawyer produces a proper notarial translation of a Hebrew death certificate or nesach tabu, the family pays for it, couriers it to Ohio, and the probate clerk or the immigration officer sets it aside because the certificate attached to it is in a language they cannot read and does not say the words their own rulebook requires.

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Detailed Answer

The American requirement is far lighter than the Israeli one. For immigration filings, 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) provides that any foreign language document submitted to USCIS must be accompanied by a full English translation which the translator has certified as complete and accurate, together with the translator's certification that they are competent to translate from that language into English. There is no requirement of notarisation, no apostille, no membership of any translators' association, and each document needs its own certification rather than one blanket statement covering a bundle. State courts, probate registries, universities and motor vehicle departments set their own standards, and while most accept the same form of certified translation, a minority of probate courts want the translator's statement sworn before a notary, and a small number of state agencies ask for the foreign notarial act itself to be authenticated. Israel is a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, so where that authentication is demanded, an Israeli Magistrates' Court apostilles the notary's certificate for a court fee of about NIS 41.

The Israeli side answers a different question, which is why the two systems mesh imperfectly. Section 15 of the Notaries Law 5736-1976 imposes a personal competence test: an Israeli notary may certify a translation only if fluent in both languages and only if they made or checked the translation themselves. That produces a certificate about the notary's own verification, drafted for Israeli registries, and traditionally written in Hebrew. Nothing in it recites the two statements an American body is looking for. The practical fix costs nothing if you ask for it at the outset: instruct the Israeli notary to issue the certificate bilingually or in English, and have the translator sign a separate short certification of completeness, accuracy and competence in the American wording, attached to the same bundle. Ordering the original Hebrew document with its own apostille at the same time is sensible, because a US recipient examining a translation of a foreign public record will often ask to see the authenticated original beside it. Our answer on whether Israeli authorities accept an American certified translation covers the reverse journey, where the answer is considerably less forgiving.

In Practice: 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) requires only a complete English translation plus the translator's certification of accuracy, completeness and competence; USCIS does not require notarisation or an apostille. An Israeli notarial translation under Section 15 of the Notaries Law 5736-1976 is charged at NIS 251 for the first 100 words, NIS 197 for each further 100 up to 1,000 and NIS 99 per 100 thereafter, plus VAT at 18%, and takes 3 to 5 business days. Where a US court or agency asks for the notarial certificate to be authenticated, an Israeli Magistrates' Court issues the apostille for about NIS 41, usually the same day.

When to Consult a Lawyer

• The document is going into a US probate file alongside Israeli estate assets. Probate registries scrutinise translations of succession orders and death certificates closely, and a rejection after the estate has been opened can require the whole Israeli bundle to be reissued.
• The filing is an immigration one with a deadline. USCIS returns a defective filing rather than curing it, and a rejected package sent back to Israel for a corrected certificate typically loses four to six weeks.
• The Hebrew original is itself a court or registry record. Which Israeli body issues the apostille depends on the document type, and getting that wrong sends the courier back for a second attempt.

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Speak With an Israeli Attorney

We arrange the Israeli notarial translation in a bilingual form, attach the translator's certification in the wording American authorities expect, and obtain the apostilles on the underlying Hebrew records.

Contact us for a confidential initial consultation.