When a notarised paper will be used outside Singapore, it needs one more check: authentication by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL). SAL looks at the notary's signature and seal before the paper can be used abroad. Our notary public translation for SAL authentication is built to pass that check the first time.
SAL does not read your translation word by word, and it does not translate papers itself. It checks the notary. So we make sure a SAL-appointed Notary Public signs, the notarial certificate stays joined to the translation, and your original papers meet SAL's rules, such as no lamination and no home-made photocopies.
We work with more than 200 languages. We can translate into English, and we can also translate English papers into French, Spanish, Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia and many more. Most translated papers notarised for SAL authentication are ready in 2 to 3 working days. If you are in a hurry, ask for our 24-hour express option.
You get a soft copy by email. You also get the hard copy by courier in Singapore, or you can collect it at Suntec Tower One. Tell us the country and the office that will read your paper, and we will send you a free quote before you pay anything.
Built to Pass SAL Checks
SAL-Appointed Notary Public
Into or From English
No Second Trip to SAL
SAL Translation Quote
SAL checks the signature and seal of Singapore notaries. Since 16 September 2021, it does this with an apostille. SAL looks at the notary, not at the words of the translation. That is why a notarised translation ready for SAL must be set up right from the start. Papers for countries outside the Apostille Convention then need one more stamp, so see our embassy legalisation for non-Apostille countries.
A skilled translator puts your paper into the language you need. Then a Singapore Notary Public signs and seals it with a notarial certificate.
SAL checks that the notary is appointed in Singapore and that the signature and seal are real. It then authenticates the notarial certificate by putting an apostille on it.
Countries in the Apostille Convention usually need nothing more. Others still want a stamp from their own embassy in Singapore.
Based on the legalisation pages on legalisation.sal.sg, run by the Singapore Academy of Law. Rules can change. The country that gets your papers sets its own rules, so please check with that office too. SAL does not endorse any private translation company.
The SAL counter checks every set before it adds its apostille. These six problems cause most of the sets that get turned back. Our notarised translation prepared for SAL checks is planned to avoid each one.
SAL cannot put an apostille on a laminated original. Ask the office that issued it for a certified true copy or an extract instead.
How we help
SAL wants originals. If a copy is needed, SAL staff make it at the counter. Copies made at home or in a shop are not taken.
How we help
Papers like a statutory declaration, a power of attorney or a bank statement are not government papers. They must be notarised before SAL can authenticate them.
How we help
SAL cannot legalise foreign papers such as a foreign birth certificate. A translation notarised in Singapore can be authenticated, because SAL checks the Singapore notary.
How we help
Digital papers must be printed first, and SAL must be able to confirm who issued them. A non-English paper with a QR code needs an endorsement from the issuing office on every page.
How we help
The notarial certificate, the translation and the copy of your paper are joined as one set. Taking out staples or swapping pages can make the set useless.
How we help
We check every one of these points before your set leaves our office, so the trip to the SAL counter is done only once.
Check My Papers FirstWe prepare notarized document translation for SAL submission for personal, school, work and legal papers. Each one comes with a notarial certificate that SAL can check.
Our notary-backed translation for SAL follows four clear stages. We plan the order with you first, so no step has to be done twice.
Hire Notarized TranslatorSend us a clear scan or photo of your paper. Tell us the country and the office that will read it, and the language they want. This helps us see if you need only an apostille, or an embassy stamp as well. If you are not sure, just say so. We will help you find out before you pay.
We send you a free quote and a clear plan. It shows which papers we will translate, who will notarise them, and when they will be ready. You can pay by Visa, Mastercard, PayNow or PayLah. Work only starts after you say yes to the plan, so there are no surprise steps or extra papers added later on.
A skilled translator writes your paper in the new language. Names, dates and stamps stay exactly as they are on the original. Then a Singapore Notary Public checks the set, signs it and puts the official seal on it. For example, a birth certificate translation notarised for use abroad is often ready for you in just 2 to 3 working days.
We email you a soft copy first so you can check it. The signed hard copy comes by courier in Singapore, or you can pick it up at Suntec Tower One. Then the set goes to the SAL counter at The Adelphi. SAL does not take papers by post, but someone else can bring them for you. If you ask, we can take it there for you.
Get Your SAL Documents Translated
Papers that go to SAL often need to travel in both directions. You may have a Chinese, Thai or Arabic paper that must be put into English. Or you may have a Singapore paper in English that must be put into French, Spanish, German, Japanese or Bahasa Indonesia. We do both kinds of foreign-language translation notarised for SAL, in more than 200 languages.
Common jobs include Chinese and Vietnamese papers for use in Europe, and English papers going to China, Indonesia, Spain or France. For a wedding abroad, a marriage certificate translation for overseas registration is one of our most asked-for jobs. If your language is rare, ask us. We will find the right translator for it.
Malay
Bahasa Melayu
Chinese (Simplified)
简体中文
Indonesian
Bahasa Indonesia
Chinese (Traditional)
繁體中文
Japanese
日本語
French
Français
Thai
ภาษาไทย
Tamil
தமிழ்
Spanish
Español
Hindi
हिन्दी
Vietnamese
Tiếng Việt
Arabic
العربية
Russian
Русский
Dutch
Nederlands
Sinhala
සිංහල
Portuguese
Português
German
Deutsch
Korean
한국어
Burmese
မြန်မာ
Italian
Italiano
Danish
Dansk
Khmer
ខ្មែរ
Hebrew
עברית
Norwegian
Norsk
Czech
Čeština
Greek
Ελληνικά
Bengali
বাংলা
Romanian
Română
Persian
فارسی
Turkish
Türkçe
Tagalog
Wikang Tagalog
Urdu
اردو
Don't see your language? We translate 200+ languages, including rare and regional ones.
When your notarised translation set for SAL apostille is done, you get a neat set of papers that are joined together. Each page is easy for SAL and for the office abroad to follow.
The notary's signature and seal sit on the certificate page. That is the page SAL checks and stamps.
Your paper in the new language, with the same layout, names and dates as the original.
A page signed and sealed by a Singapore Notary Public. SAL puts its apostille on this page.
A copy of your source paper joined to the set, so readers can see what was translated.
If you ask, we take the set to SAL, and to the embassy if your country needs it.
If the office abroad asks for a change to our translation, we fix it for free and have it notarised again.
These samples show how a finished translation and notarial certificate look. Private details have been hidden.
Read what people say after sending their papers overseas with our help.
These short stories show how we choose the right steps before any money is spent.
A Singapore legal paper was put into Bahasa Indonesia. The apostille went on the notarial certificate, because SAL checks the notary, not the translation.
Read Full Case Study
A client was not sure if she needed SAL. We asked who would read the paper. It was for a Singapore office, so no apostille was needed.
Read Full Case Study
A simple guide to what SAL does. It explains why papers used inside Singapore usually do not need it, and papers going abroad often do.
Read Full Case StudyTell us where your papers are going, and we will plan the right steps with you. From the first scan to the translation notarised for SAL and embassy legalisation, we help you at every stage. Ask for your free quote today. You can also read about all our work on our page for notarized document translation Singapore.
