Household Register Translation for USCIS (2026 Guide)

If you are filing a family-based immigration case from China, one document appears in almost every evidence package: the household register, or 户口本 (hukou). It records who belongs to a household, their relationships to the head of household, and their registered addresses. USCIS officers read it as supporting evidence of family relationships — but only if they can read it. A household register that is not in English needs a certified translation, and this is a document where partial translations cause more problems than they solve.

What a household register is — and what it is not

A household register is an administrative record kept by the local police station (派出所). Each booklet typically contains:

A cover page identifying the household and the issuing authority.
A page for the head of household (户主).
One page per household member, listing name, sex, date of birth, relationship to the head of household (与户主关系), marital status, and registered address.
Pages recording changes over time: moves, marriages, births, and cancellations (注销) when a member leaves the household or passes away.

Two things it is not:

It is not a birth certificate. A household register supports a claim about family relationships; it does not replace a birth certificate, which remains the primary civil document for proving parentage in most filings. If USCIS asks for a birth certificate, a translated household register alone will not satisfy the request.
It is not proof of current residence. The registered address (户口所在地) is an administrative registration, which may differ from where a person actually lives. Do not present it as a current-address proof unless the filing specifically asks for the registered address.

Which pages do you translate?

The short answer: the whole booklet, as issued. The long answer is why partial translations fail:

Every member page. Officers cross-check relationships across the whole household. Translating only your own page — or only the pages of the people named in the petition — leaves the officer unable to verify the household structure, and that gap is a classic Request for Evidence (RFE) trigger.
Change and cancellation pages. A page marked 注销 (cancelled) for a member who emigrated or married out is part of the record. Omitting it looks like selective disclosure, even when the omission was innocent.
The cover and issuing-authority pages. These anchor the document: which police station issued it, when, and under what booklet number.
Stamps, seals, and handwritten annotations. Police-station seals, change stamps, and marginal notes are part of the document and must be rendered or described in brackets (e.g., “[Round seal: XX Police Station]”).

If a page is blank, the translation notes that it is blank rather than skipping it silently. A complete translation leaves no page unaccounted for.

What USCIS requires

The translation rules are the same ones that govern every foreign-language document submitted to USCIS (8 CFR § 103.2(b)(3)): a complete English translation, plus a signed statement from the translator certifying that they are competent to translate and that the translation is complete and accurate.

One clarification that matters: “certified translation” here means the translator’s signed certificate of accuracy. USCIS does not accredit or license translators, and no translation service holds a “USCIS certification.” Any provider claiming otherwise is misrepresenting the requirement.

Five pitfalls that generate RFEs

Translating only your own page. As above, this is the single most common defect. The household register is evidence of a household, not of one person; translate it as a whole.
Name mismatches across documents. The name on the household register must match your passport, birth certificate, and the rest of your filing. Differences in transliteration (e.g., Lü vs. Lu), a married name vs. a birth name, or a name changed after registration need a translator’s note, not a silent “correction.” Officers compare these strings exactly.
Mistranslating the relationship field. 与户主关系 is the most consequential field in the booklet. “Son,” “daughter,” “spouse,” “father,” and “mother” are straightforward — but extended-family terms (e.g., 侄子 vs. 外甥, both sometimes rendered “nephew”) carry different family relationships. A careful translation preserves the distinction or flags it, because the petition’s claimed relationship is checked against exactly this field.
Treating the registered address as a current address. If the filing asks where someone lives now, the household register answers a different question. Submitting it as address proof without explanation invites confusion, not clarity.
Submitting an outdated booklet. Household registers change: members marry, move, or are cancelled from the register. If your booklet has not been updated to reflect the current household composition, get an updated copy from the issuing police station before translating — translating an outdated booklet and then re-translating the updated one is money spent twice.

Certified vs. notarized — which do you need?

USCIS requires the translator’s signed certification statement. It does not require notarization of the translation itself. In China, a 公证书 (notarial certificate) built around the household register is a different document from a certified translation of the register, and the two are not interchangeable. Confirm which one your filing requires before paying for both. Every Lumorbis translation ships with a signed certificate of accuracy carrying an online-verifiable certificate number.

Turnaround and cost

A household register translated as a whole book is priced at $39.95 on the Lumorbis pricing page. Because booklets vary in length, confirm current turnaround when you order; standard 1–2 page documents are normally completed within 24 hours at no surcharge. If you are responding to an RFE with a deadline, order the translation of the complete booklet — not just the pages the RFE quotes — and tell the provider the deadline up front.

FAQ

Do I need to translate the whole household register, or just my page?

The whole booklet, as issued. Officers read the household structure, not a single page, and partial translations are a common RFE trigger.

Can the household register replace a birth certificate?

No. It supports a family-relationship claim, but it does not replace a birth certificate or other primary civil documents. If USCIS asks for a birth certificate, submit a certified translation of the birth certificate itself.

Can I translate my own household register?

No. The translator must be a competent, impartial third party. Self-translations are routinely questioned and can trigger a Request for Evidence.

What if a family member’s page has been cancelled (注销)?

Translate it anyway, exactly as issued. A cancelled page is part of the record; omitting it looks like selective disclosure.

What if my booklet is outdated?

Get an updated copy from the issuing police station first, then have the updated booklet translated. Translating an outdated booklet usually means paying twice.

My household register is already partly in English. Do I still need a translation?

If every operative word — including stamps, seals, relationship fields, and handwritten notes — appears in English, no. If any element is in the foreign language only, that element needs certified translation.

Does the translation expire?

No. A compliant translation has no expiration date. But if a new booklet is issued later — for example, after a household change — that new document needs its own translation.

Need a certified household register translation? Lumorbis LLC provides USCIS-compliant certified translations in 21 languages, each with a signed certificate of accuracy and an online-verifiable certificate number. Order a translation, see pricing, or verify a certificate.