Certified translation Russian–German

Names in Cyrillic script: ISO 9-1995

For documents originally issued in Cyrillic script, the Standesamt in Berlin states that the translation of personal names — given names, family names, birth names, name chains, patronymics — must follow the transliteration norms, and names ISO 9-1995 among them, the norm for converting Cyrillic characters. The conversion works character by character: every Cyrillic letter gets its prescribed Latin counterpart, regardless of how the name sounds or how an airline spells it.

Source: berlin.de (checked 5 November 2026)

When the passport and the transliteration part ways

The norm-compliant transliteration often looks different from the spelling in a passport, because passports follow a conversion of their own. That is not an error in the translation but the normal case — and exactly why it is worth telling us the passport spelling: the translator can carry it as a note, so the office has both forms and can match the person unambiguously. Give us the spelling as it appears in the machine-readable zone of your passport.

When the translation was made abroad

Many documents come with a translation made in the issuing country and notarised there. The Standesamt in Berlin records that transliteration norms are frequently not applied in translations produced abroad, which is what makes a supplementary translation in Germany necessary. We work from the Russian original in that case; the attached version is useful for your own records but is not the authoritative one for the office.

Source: berlin.de (checked 5 November 2026)

Who may translate in Germany

The Standesamt in Cologne sets out the requirement for registering a marriage concluded abroad: a foreign-language document also needs a translation by an interpreter or translator, who must be publicly appointed or sworn in Germany; where the document is not written in Latin letters, a transliteration to the ISO standard is necessary, and document and translation are to be presented in the original. The Standesamt in Berlin draws the same line generally for papers that are not in German. Our translations therefore carry the certification note, stamp and signature of someone sworn in Germany.

Source: stadt-koeln.de (checked 5 November 2026), berlin.de (checked 5 November 2026)

Documents from several successor states

Russian-language documents do not come only from Russia. Birth and marriage certificates from the Soviet period, confirmations from Kazakhstan or Belarus and diplomas of older universities are frequently issued in Russian, even where the issuing body goes by a different name today. We translate Russian-language documents whatever state issued them. Where a document contains passages in a further language, tell us beforehand so we can check that we cover it in full.

Diplomas, transcripts and employment record books

Recognition of a qualification usually calls for the certificate and the annex listing individual marks; pension procedures call for the employment record book with its series of entries. Under § 23(1) VwVfG the official language is German, and the authority may require a translation whose accuracy has been certified. In our catalogue you order the qualification as a Diploma / Educational Degree and the annex of marks separately as a College Transcript.

Source: gesetze-im-internet.de (checked 5 November 2026)