Latvian Translation Services

Where Latvian is spoken and where your translation is accepted

Latvian is the only state language of Latvia and an official language of the European Union since 2004. It has nearly 2 million speakers, counting those who speak it as a second language. After the Second World War, tens of thousands of Latvian refugees settled in the United States, Canada and Australia, and since 2004 many Latvians have moved to the United Kingdom and Ireland. In the early 20th century Latvian immigrants also settled in the state of São Paulo, in Brazil. The destination decides the type of translation.

Latvian translation services for documents from Latvia

Latvian has its own letters, gives every name a grammatical ending and writes dates in its own order, and documents from Latvia follow their own formats and official terms. A good translation follows the Latvian of the original, keeps every letter of the names and reads naturally to whoever receives it.

• Letters: Latvian uses the Latin alphabet with marks of its own: a bar for long vowels (ā, ē, ī, ū), a hook on č, š and ž, and a comma under ģ, ķ, ļ and ņ. American documents often drop the marks, so Bērziņš becomes Berzins. The translation keeps every name exactly as in the original, so tell us the form used in your US documents when you order.
• Latvian, Latgalian and Russian: in eastern Latvia there is also a written Latgalian (latgaliešu valoda), which the State Language Law protects as a historical variety of Latvian. Many records from the Soviet period, which ended in 1991, come in Russian or in Latvian and Russian side by side. If part of your document is not in Latvian, tell us when you order and we confirm the options before quoting.
• Names: Latvian adds an ending to every name, so surnames have a male and a female form, such as Bērziņš and Bērziņa, and foreign names are written the Latvian way, so John Smith appears as Džons Smits. The translation never adapts a name: it keeps the spelling of the original, and differences between your documents are something to point out when you order.
• Dates and numbers: numeric dates come in day, month and year order, so 03.10.2026 is October 3, 2026, and in words the year comes first, as in 2026. gada 3. oktobris, with the months in lowercase. Decimals use a comma and thousands a space, so 1 500,00 is one thousand five hundred. Older personal codes (personas kods) begin with the date of birth; those issued since 2017 no longer do.
• Documents from Latvia: the birth certificate (dzimšanas apliecība) and the marriage certificate (laulības apliecība), issued by the civil registry offices (dzimtsarakstu nodaļa), statements (izziņa) from the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP), the certificate of no criminal record (izziņa par sodāmību) and the diploma (diploms). The translation reproduces every stamp, seal and note.