I know this was asked already, but I need to translate a brith certificate

From Spanish to English (I am fluent in both languages) ASAP! However, I have come across a situation where my sister went to a notary public in her area (I was out of town) and a Notary translated the certificate of birth then wrote at the bottom:

I, *, Notary Public, in and for the County of Los Angeles, State of California, hereby certify that the translation on this sheet corresponding to a birth certificate of * is a true and faithful one to the best of my knowledge and abilities and that said translation was personally done by me.

Then the Notary signed and notarized the bottom.

Then I saw another one from someone else where the bottom says the translattion was done by someone else other than the notary and the statement was just notarized.

Which one of these methods should be done? Sorry but I just want to make sure I am doing this correctly since I have seen different ways of doing this and it seems so confusing to me.

Also, if anyone is interested I have the basic template in Publisher format in case anyone would like a copy, I could forward it to you.

Thanks in advance!

I would avoid two things:

1) Notarizing something for a family member. There are instances when it’s okay, but I prefer not doing it at all.

2) Translating a document and acting as the notary for the document as well. The Notary should notarize the statement of the person who did the translation. The way it was done as you described it, the notary notarized his/her own signature.

Myra, you are 100% right on with your reply and suggestions! I DO NOT encourage anyone to even consider performing the translation and then performing the notarization too – H E L L O! The only Spanish I know is, Corona and Margarita, so I’m not a good person to ask. I teach CA mandatory education and this is NOT COVERED in our seminar and I’ve never seen anything like this on the test. Guess you’d better look up WHO is the governing body for TRANSLATIONS (New World Language Services would know) and of course, the CA Secretary of State for Notary Laws. Kelly ox