If a death certificate was issued outside the UK and isn’t in English, HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) requires a complete, certified English translation submitted alongside the original as part of a probate application. Use a licensed translation provider and no extra form is needed and a signed declaration (Form PA19) must go with it.
We’ve spent years preparing certified translations that go directly into UK court and probate files, so we know this process from the inside — not just what the forms say, but what actually gets an application through the Probate Registry without a follow-up letter. At Death Certificate Translations, this is the kind of document we handle every week: foreign-issued death certificates that need to meet an exact legal standard before a grant of representation can move forward. What follows isn’t a general guide pulled together from a search results page — it’s drawn directly from the current PA1A, PA1P, and PA19 probate forms, checked against how the Probate Registry actually processes these submissions. If you’re an executor, administrator, or next of kin trying to get this right on the first attempt, here’s exactly what’s required, and where most applications run into trouble.
What the Probate Registry Actually Checks in a Foreign-Language Death Certificate
A probate application — form PA1P where there’s a will, PA1A where there isn’t — has to include an official copy of the death certificate, not a photocopy. If that certificate isn’t in English, the Probate Registry simply can’t act on it. The application doesn’t get rejected outright; it stalls, sitting unprocessed until an acceptable translation is added to the file.
Two other documents tend to get confused with what’s actually required here. An apostille confirms that a UK-issued document is genuine for use in another country — relevant when a UK death certificate is heading abroad, not when a foreign certificate is coming into a UK probate application. What some people call a “sworn translation” isn’t quite the right term either: UK courts don’t ask for a translation sworn before a solicitor in the way some civil-law countries do. What HMCTS actually asks for is a certified translation — accurate, complete, and backed by a signed statement. Neither an apostille nor a sworn declaration is part of that requirement.
Responsibility for sourcing this translation usually falls to the executor named in the will, or to the next of kin applying for Letters of Administration. It comes up whether the death occurred overseas, or the deceased held a foreign nationality and their civil registry never issued the certificate in English to begin with.
HMCTS Official Requirements Checklist
Based on the current PA1A, PA1P, and PA19 probate forms, here’s what HMCTS expects when a foreign death certificate is part of your application:
- An official copy of the certificate — not a photocopy, and not a scan of a photocopy.
- A complete translation — every section covered, not just the name and date.
- A translation certificate or statement confirming the English version is accurate.
- The translator’s full name on the certification statement.
- The translator’s signature — handwritten or typed is accepted.
- The translator’s contact details, so the registry can follow up if needed.
- Form PA19, only if the translation wasn’t done by a licensed translation company.
- All relevant documents submitted together — original certificate, translation, and PA19 if it applies.
- No notarisation required for HMCTS itself, unless a separate overseas authority asks for one.
Miss any of points 1–6 and the registry typically pauses the application and asks for it again, adding time to a process that already runs against inheritance tax and estate deadlines.
PA19 Form — What It Means If You Skip a Licensed Translator
PA19 exists for one specific situation: someone other than a licensed translation company has translated the certificate — most often a bilingual family member or friend stepping in to help.
The form asks that translator to state whether they’re a native speaker or a qualified translator, then sign a formal declaration. That signature is not a formality to skim past. It confirms, in writing, that the translation is accurate “to the best of your knowledge,” and the form states directly that proceedings for contempt of court can follow if the information turns out to be false or misleading. Once submitted, it becomes part of the public probate record attached to that grant of representation.
Where a licensed translation provider prepares the certificate instead, their own signed certificate of translation takes the place of PA19 — the form simply doesn’t come into it. That’s the deciding factor: who carried out the translation, not where they’re based or what format the original certificate happens to be in.
Translation Standards That Help Your Application Get Accepted on the First Attempt
Beyond the certification statement itself, it’s the quality of the translation that decides whether a Probate Registry caseworker reads it and moves on, or reads it and writes back with a question:
- Every element translated — main text, stamps, registrar’s seal, marginal notes, and handwritten entries, not just the fields that look important.
- Names and places kept exactly as written, using transliteration only where the original script requires it, never translated as though they were ordinary words.
- Signatures marked, not translated — noted simply as “Signature” or “Illegible Signature.”
- Layout mirrored, so the translation can be checked line by line against the original.
- Blank or unclear fields noted honestly — “Blank” or “Illegible” — rather than quietly left out.
- No added interpretation. A translator’s job is to render the original faithfully, not explain or tidy it up.
None of this is written into HMCTS’s own forms as a rule — it’s standard practice among translators who work in this field regularly, because it’s what keeps a caseworker from needing to write back. Professional affiliations, such as membership with the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) or the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL), aren’t mandated by HMCTS. But in our experience, they’re a reliable signal that a translator holds to this standard consistently, case after case.
DIY Translation vs Licensed Certified Translation — What Actually Changes at Submission
| Family/Friend Translation | Licensed Certified Translation | |
|---|---|---|
| Extra form required | PA19, with signature and declaration | None |
| Legal exposure | Translator personally accountable under contempt-of-court wording | Provider takes responsibility |
| Certification format | Must match PA19’s exact fields | Pre-formatted to registry expectations |
| Turnaround | Depends on the translator’s availability | Fixed, often same-day |
| Risk of a registry query | Higher, if wording or format is inconsistent | Lower, format is already registry-ready |
The certificate itself isn’t harder to translate one way or the other — the words are the same either way. What changes is the paperwork sitting around it, and who’s personally accountable if a caseworker raises a question.
Why Foreign Death Certificate Translations Get Queried or Delayed
Most delays don’t come from the translation being wrong — they come from it being incomplete. A stamp left untranslated, a section skipped because it looked purely administrative, or a certification statement missing the translator’s contact details is often enough for the registry to pause the file and write back for a correction. We see this most often with certificates that carry handwritten registrar’s notes or older civil registration formats, where it’s tempting to translate only the printed fields and leave the rest. Every round of correspondence with the registry adds weeks, not days, to a case.
How We Prepare an HMCTS-Ready Foreign Death Certificate Translation
At Death Certificate Translations, every foreign death certificate destined for a UK probate case is translated in full, checked by a second translator before it leaves our hands, and issued with a signed certification statement carrying the translator’s name, signature, date, and contact details — precisely the information HMCTS asks for. Because the translation comes from a licensed provider, PA19 never enters the picture. Certificates are typically ready within 24–48 hours, with a same-day option for cases already up against a court or registry deadline.
Foreign Death Certificates We Regularly Translate for UK Probate
Probate cases involving a foreign death certificate most often reach us from certificates issued in Poland, India, Spain, Italy, Romania, and the Gulf states — usually because the deceased died overseas, held dual nationality, or their marriage and estate paperwork originated in another country. Every civil registry formats its certificates differently, so a translator working on a probate case needs to recognise local registry terminology, seal wording, and date conventions correctly before carrying them into English. This is a different discipline from the certified translations we prepare for visa or remarriage applications — a probate case goes straight into a court file, so the format has to match what a Probate Registry caseworker is trained to expect.
Quick Answers
Does HMCTS need a notarised translation for probate?
No. A certified translation with a signed accuracy statement is normally enough. Notarisation is only needed if a separate overseas authority asks for it.
Can I translate my own parent’s or spouse’s death certificate?
Yes, but you’ll need to complete Form PA19 and sign a declaration confirming the translation is accurate, along with the accountability that comes with it.
Does the original certificate need an apostille as well as a translation?
No, not for HMCTS. Apostille applies when a UK-issued document is being used abroad, not when a foreign certificate is submitted here.
What happens if the registry finds an error in the translation?
The application is typically paused until a corrected version is submitted, adding time to the case.
Do I need to send the original death certificate along with the translation?
Yes. HMCTS asks for the original or an official copy alongside the translation — the translation on its own isn’t accepted as a substitute for the source document.
What if the death certificate already has some English text on it?
If any part of the original is in a language other than English, the whole certificate still needs a translation. A partially bilingual certificate doesn’t remove the requirement for the non-English sections.
Get Your Foreign Death Certificate Translated for HMCTS, the Right Way
If you’re preparing a probate application and the death certificate in front of you isn’t in English, how you handle its translation now can decide how smoothly the rest of the case moves. At Death Certificate Translations, we work with foreign-issued death certificates for UK probate cases every week, and every translation we prepare is built to the exact standard HMCTS expects — complete, certified, and signed by a named translator you can trust to stand behind it. There’s no PA19 form to complete, no uncertainty about whether the format will be accepted, and no legal accountability resting on a family member’s shoulders. Simply fill in our short query form with a clear photo or scan of the certificate, and one of our translators will confirm your quote and turnaround time within the hour, often the same day if your registry deadline is close. It’s one small step that removes a genuinely stressful part of an already difficult process, and it’s one we’re glad to take off your hands.
