DOCUMENTS TO GET BEFORE
YOU LEAVE THE U.S.
This is what our applications actually required.
If you're planning to live abroad, there are a few documents that are much easier to deal with before you leave. We didn't fully appreciate that until we started working through French paperwork and saw how many later steps depended on things that had to come from the U.S.
These are the ones that mattered most for us.
Birth certificates Many applications require an official version issued by the state or county — not a scan, not a photocopy. Ordering certified copies before you leave is straightforward. Trying to do the same thing once you're living in another country involves state offices, long processing times, and international mailing delays you don't control.
Marriage certificate If your passport and birth certificate don't match on name, this is the document that connects them. Having a certified copy ready keeps applications from stalling while you track it down later.
Driving record Some countries require a recent official driving history from your state if you plan to exchange a driver's license. This is much easier to request when you still have a U.S. address and dependable mail service.
What certified actually means It means the version issued directly by a government office. Not something printed from a website, scanned from an old copy, or notarized locally. If it doesn't look like an official document it will likely be rejected.
Apostille The birth certificate and marriage certificate both need to be apostilled — an official authentication that makes them recognized for use in another country. This is a separate step from ordering the certified document and has to be requested specifically. Without it, French administrative offices may not accept them.
Translations All of these documents — birth certificates, marriage certificate, and driving record — need to be translated for French administrative use. The translation has to be done by a sworn translator recognized by the French courts, either in France or by a French-certified translator. A notarized translation arranged before you leave will not be accepted. Plan this into your timeline as a separate step after you have the documents in hand.
What to expect on cost Ordering certified documents in the U.S. is usually inexpensive — often $10–$30 per document. Sworn translations in France are a different category. Priced per page, they can run €40–€70 per page depending on the document and the translator. If you need multiple documents translated, this becomes a real line item.
One thing that saved us time Keep everything on a USB key — certified copies, passport pages, visa pages, all of it. Self-service printers that accept a USB directly are easy to find — post offices, supermarkets, and copy shops are good places to start. It keeps the originals safe and means you're never caught without what you need.
If a document might be needed later for residency, healthcare, or a driver's license, get it sorted before you leave. The same request is slower and more expensive once you're living somewhere else.
The decisions you make before you leave matter more than you think — one of ours turned a transatlantic crossing into 13 nights we didn’t want to end.
Scott & Liza
