ACRO Police Certificate Translation Services in the UK — Certified for Visas
Your ACRO certificate arrives in English, and the embassy, immigration department or employer asking for it does not read English. We translate it exactly — result wording, reference number, stamp and all — and arrange the apostille in the order your destination country expects.
Get an ACRO Police Certificate Translation Quote
Tell us the destination country. It decides everything else.
Who We Provide ACRO Police Certificate Translation For in the UK
Almost nobody orders this out of interest. There is a visa application, a job offer or a residency file waiting on it, and usually a date attached.
People Emigrating
Applicants moving to Australia, Canada or New Zealand, where a police certificate from every country you have lived in is part of the standard checklist.
Overseas Job Applicants
Work permits in the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, where the employer or ministry usually wants the certificate legalised and translated before a visa is issued.
Residency Applicants in Europe
Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, where residency and registration files routinely include a translated police certificate.
Marriage & Family Applications
Couples marrying abroad or applying for family reunification, where each partner has to produce a certificate the local registry can read.
Students & Researchers
Long-stay study visas and university placements that ask for police clearance alongside academic documents.
Relocation & Global Mobility Teams
HR and mobility teams moving staff overseas, who need the same document handled the same way for several employees at once.
Immigration Advisers & Visa Agents
Advisers assembling client files, often alongside the material covered on our Immigration Tribunal translation page.
Anyone Who Has Been Refused Once
Applicants whose translation was rejected by a consulate and who now need it done in the specific form that authority accepts.
ACRO Police Certificate Details and Supporting Documents We Translate
Every part of the certificate is translated, including the stamp and the apostille if one is attached. Most people also need three or four other documents in the same file, so we quote them together.
ACRO Police Certificate Translation — Before & After Examples
Three parts of the certificate that decide whether it is accepted: the result line, the wording that looks like the result line but is not, and the block that lets the authority verify it.
Result: NO TRACE. There is no trace of convictions, cautions, reprimands or final warnings recorded against the applicant on the Police National Computer.
Resultado: NO TRACE (sin antecedentes). No consta ningún registro de condenas, amonestaciones, reprimendas ni advertencias finales a nombre del solicitante en el Police National Computer (Ordenador Nacional de Policía).
Result: NO LIVE TRACE. Information held on the Police National Computer has been stepped down under ACRO’s retention policy and is not disclosed on this certificate.
Resultado: NO LIVE TRACE (sem registo ativo). As informações constantes do Police National Computer foram reclassificadas ao abrigo da política de conservação da ACRO e não são divulgadas no presente certificado.
Certificate reference: ACRO/2026/1183472. Issued by ACRO Criminal Records Office, Fareham, Hampshire. [Official stamp and authorised signature]
مرجع الشهادة: ACRO/2026/1183472. صادرة عن مكتب السجلات الجنائية ACRO، فيرهام، هامبشير. [ختم رسمي وتوقيع معتمد]
Extracts are illustrative and use an invented reference number. No real certificate or applicant is shown.
What Must Be Exact in an ACRO Police Certificate Translation
This is a short document, which is exactly why the small things carry all the weight. Six details account for almost every rejection we are asked to fix.
‘No Trace’ means no record, not innocence
The certificate states that nothing is recorded on the Police National Computer. Translating that into ‘clean record’ or ‘no criminal history’ states something the certificate does not, and consulates notice.
‘No Live Trace’ is a different result
It means information exists but has been stepped down and is not disclosed. Collapsing it into ‘No Trace’ misrepresents the certificate. We keep the original wording and explain it.
The reference number is the verification route
The receiving authority uses it to check the certificate is genuine. It is reproduced exactly, never transliterated into another script and never reformatted.
Names must match your passport
The spelling on the translation has to match the passport the authority is holding, including middle names and accents. Tell us if your certificate and passport differ — that is fixable, but only if we know.
Stamps and signatures are content
The ACRO stamp, the authorised signature and any barcode are described in place and labelled. A translation that silently omits them looks incomplete next to the original.
Dates keep their meaning
Issue date, date of birth and any conviction dates are converted to the destination format without ambiguity. Written 04/07, a date means two different things depending on who is reading it.
Apostille and ACRO Police Certificate Translation — the Right Order
This is the mistake that costs people three weeks and a second set of fees. Translation and legalisation are not independent steps, and doing them the wrong way round usually means starting again.
Get the certificate from ACRO
Apply to ACRO and wait for the paper certificate to arrive by post. Nothing else can start until you are holding it, because the apostille goes on an original.
Apostille the certificate first
In most cases the FCDO apostille is attached to the ACRO certificate itself, before translation. Translate first and the apostille ends up on the wrong document.
Translate the certificate and the apostille
The translation then covers both, so the receiving authority gets one complete set in a language it reads. This is the order most consulates expect.
Check whether the translation also needs legalising
A minority of countries want the translation notarised, or apostilled in its own right, or produced by a locally sworn translator. Ask before you order, not after.
Requirements differ by country and change from time to time. General guidance only — confirm what your embassy, consulate or immigration authority currently requires, and tell us. The same sequencing applies to sealed documents covered on our court order translation page.
ACRO vs DBS: Which Certificate Needs Translating?
People arrive here holding the wrong document surprisingly often. Both show what is on your record, but they are issued by different bodies for different purposes.
If you are not sure which one your destination wants, send us the request you were given and we will tell you before you order anything.
Certified, Sworn and Notarised ACRO Police Certificate Translation
Four levels, and your destination decides which applies. Paying for more than you need wastes money; paying for less means doing it twice.
Certified translation
A signed statement from the translator confirming the translation is complete and accurate, with their name, qualifications and contact details. Accepted by most consulates and immigration authorities on its own.
Notarised translation
A notary public witnesses the translator’s signature and adds their own certificate. Required by some countries before an apostille can be issued on the translation.
Sworn translation
Where a country only accepts a translator registered or sworn locally, we tell you at the quoting stage and arrange it, rather than certifying something that will be handed back at the counter.
Apostille & consular legalisation
FCDO legalisation for Hague Convention countries and embassy legalisation for the rest, handled together with the translation so nothing gets posted between suppliers.
ACRO Police Certificate Translation in 100+ Languages
The language is decided by where you are applying, not by where you are from. A British applicant moving to Lisbon needs Portuguese; the same applicant moving to Dubai needs Arabic.
Every certificate is translated by a linguist working into their native language and checked by a second. Where a country insists on a locally registered translator, we say so before you pay.
Need Your ACRO Police Certificate Translated Before It Expires?
Many authorities only accept a certificate issued within the last three or six months, and legalisation eats into that window. Send us the issue date and we will tell you what is realistically left.
Confidential Handling of ACRO Police Certificate Translation
A police certificate says something about you that you probably would not share with a colleague. Whether it reads No Trace or lists a conviction, it is treated the same way here.
Why UK Applicants Choose Our ACRO Police Certificate Translation Service
Six things that make the difference on a document this short, where almost every problem is procedural rather than linguistic.
We ask the destination first
Country before language, every time. It determines the certification level, whether an apostille is needed and what order the steps go in.
Result wording handled correctly
No Trace and No Live Trace are different results and are translated as such. Getting this wrong is the fastest way to have a file questioned.
Apostille handled with the translation
One order, one point of contact, tracked postage. You are not couriering a certificate between a notary, the FCDO and a translator yourself.
Checked by a second linguist
Names, dates and the reference number are verified against your certificate and your passport spelling before anything is signed.
Bundle your other documents
Birth certificate, degree, bank statements. Quoted together and delivered together, which is cheaper and far less to keep track of.
Nothing has to be handed over in person
Secure upload and tracked post. Whether you are in Aberdeen or Southampton makes no difference to the price or the timing.
Our ACRO Police Certificate Translation Process, Step by Step
Six steps, all of them remote. You will not need to post anything until step five, and only if your destination requires legalisation.
Send us a photo of your certificate
A clear phone photo is enough to quote. Tell us the destination country and the authority asking for it, and we can confirm what you actually need.
Get a fixed price the same day
One price covering translation, certification and, if you need it, the apostille. No hourly rates and nothing added later.
Confirm your name spelling
We check the certificate against the passport spelling the authority will be holding, and raise it with you if they differ.
Translation and independent check
A native-speaking linguist translates; a second checks names, dates, the reference number and the result wording against your original.
Legalisation if required
Notarisation or FCDO apostille arranged where your destination asks for it, with tracking so you can see where the document is.
Delivered by email and post
A signed PDF the same day it is finished, and hard copies by tracked post to any UK address, or forwarded overseas if you have already moved.
ACRO Police Certificate Translation Cost in the UK
A flat price per certificate, because an ACRO certificate is a short, predictable document. You are told the full cost before you order, including postage.
Certified
Ready in 2 working days
Urgent
Ready within 24 hours
With Apostille
Translation and legalisation together
Additional documents in the same order are discounted. FCDO and notary fees are passed on at cost and shown separately — never marked up and never hidden inside the headline price.
ACRO Police Certificate Translation Case Studies
Names are held back. The destinations, the sequences and the turnarounds are not.
Australian Skilled Visa — No Trace
An applicant in Leeds needed the certificate for a skilled visa file with the medical already booked. Straight certified translation, no legalisation required for the destination.
UAE Work Permit — Full Legalisation
A Manchester engineer with a Dubai job offer needed the certificate apostilled and translated into Arabic, in the sequence the employer’s PRO had specified.
Spanish Residency — Rejected Once
A Bristol applicant whose earlier translation had been refused because the result wording and the ACRO stamp had not been reproduced.
ACRO Police Certificate Translation Reviews From UK Clients
Feedback from applicants across the UK who needed a certificate translated for a visa, a job or a move abroad.
"They told me to apostille first and translate second. My friend did it the other way round and had to start again, so that one sentence saved me weeks."
"My certificate said No Live Trace and I was worried about how that would read. It was translated properly and explained, and Portugal accepted it."
"Ordered on a Tuesday evening, had the PDF Wednesday afternoon and the posted copy Thursday. For £75 that is hard to argue with."
"I live in Aberdeen and assumed I would have to travel to London for something like this. Everything was done by upload and post."
"A previous translation was rejected by the consulate. They spotted straight away that the stamp had been left out and redid the whole thing."
"They translated my degree and birth certificate in the same order and knocked money off. One less thing to chase."
Names shown with permission. Full references available on request.
ACRO Police Certificate Translation in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Across the UK
Your certificate arrives from ACRO by post wherever you live, and everything we do runs by secure upload and tracked delivery. Nothing has to be handed over in person, so your postcode changes neither the price nor the timing.
Not on the list? We cover every town and postcode in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and can post completed documents to an overseas address if you have already moved.
Other Certified Translation Services We Offer in the UK
Most visa files need more than one document. We translate the rest of yours too, under the same order.
Immigration Tribunal Translation
Asylum appeals, Home Office correspondence and country evidence for UK immigration cases.
Learn more →Court Order Translation
Sealed orders for use overseas, with notarisation and apostille arranged.
Learn more →Certified Document Translation
Birth, marriage, academic and identity documents for official use.
Learn more →Apostille & Legalisation
FCDO and consular legalisation handled end to end.
Learn more →Notarised & Sworn Translation
Where a country or authority requires a notary or a sworn translator.
Learn more →Family Court Translation
Divorce, children and financial documents for use in the UK and abroad.
Learn more →ACRO Police Certificate Translation FAQs (UK)
The questions applicants ask most. If yours is not here, send a photo of your certificate and the country you are applying to.
Get Your ACRO Police Certificate Translation Quote Today
Send a photo of your certificate and tell us which country you are applying to. You will have a fixed price, the right certification named, and a clear answer on whether you need an apostille — usually within thirty minutes.
UK Court Translations is an independent translation provider and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting on behalf of ACRO, the FCDO or any government body. Nothing on this page is legal or immigration advice; confirm current requirements with the authority receiving your documents.