2026-10-06

Translating Ukrainian and Soviet Documents: 7 Places Where Mistakes Happen

Birth and marriage certificates, diplomas and driving licences from Ukraine are now part of everyday work for sworn translators. Most queries from authorities are not about language, but about names, places and formalities.

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The 7 most common sources of error

Two correct spellings. Ukrainian names have an official passport spelling (Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 55 of 27.01.2010) and the scholarly ISO 9 transliteration. Олексій Гнатюк becomes Oleksii Hnatiuk in the passport and Oleksìj Gnatûk under ISO 9. Choose one spelling — usually the one in the passport — and give the other in a note if needed.
Г becomes H. Under the official table, Г is rendered as H (Hnatiuk, not Gnatiuk). The soft sign and apostrophe are not rendered, and зг becomes zgh (Згурський → Zghurskyi) so it is not confused with ж = zh.
Є, Ї, Й, Ю, Я depend on position. At the start of a word: Ye, Yi, Y, Yu, Ya; elsewhere ie, i, i, iu, ia. So Юрій becomes Yurii and Наталія becomes Nataliia. This is where translations most often differ from the passport.
Russian-language Soviet documents. If an older certificate was filled in in Russian, the name appears in its Russian form (Алексей instead of Олексій). Render what the document says, do not silently replace it with the passport form, and point out the different passport spelling in a note.
The patronymic is part of the name. Under Article 28 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, the name of a Ukrainian citizen consists of surname, given name and patronymic. Do not drop it and do not turn it into a middle name.
Renamed places. Some places now have different names from those in the document: Dnipropetrovsk has been called Dnipro since 19.05.2016 (Verkhovna Rada Resolution No. 1375-VIII). Keep the name from the document and add the current name in a note if needed.
The issuing authority. Soviet certificates name the ЗАГС; today certificates are issued by the civil status registration departments (Law of Ukraine No. 2398-VI, Art. 6). Translate the authority as it appears in the document and do not modernise it.

Ukrainian documents can be apostilled for use abroad: Ukraine has been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 22.12.2003.

How Lingverra helps

Lingverra shows the passport spelling and ISO 9 side by side for every name, reads handwritten entries on Soviet forms, keeps stamps and seals in place and highlights uncertain passages. You check the marked words and certify.

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