Malaysian Government Requirements for Certified Translation and Document Attestation

Malaysian government agencies in various sectors (legal/civil, immigration, business, academic/professional) have official requirements for using certified translations, notarisation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) attestation, and embassy authentication. Below are key examples by government entity, with a summary of their requirements and source links to the relevant official pages:

National Registration Department (JPN) – Civil/Legal Documents

Entity: Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN) – responsible for civil registrations like marriages.

Requirements: When registering marriages involving foreign nationals, any document not in Malay or English must be accompanied by a certified translation in Malay or English. Translations done in Malaysia by authorized translators (e.g. Malaysian court translators or the National Translation Institute) are accepted as-is, but translations done abroad must be endorsed by the relevant embassy and then re-certified by Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Wisma Putra) before JPN accepts them. In addition, foreign-issued documents (such as a “Letter of Confirmation of Marital Status” for non-citizen applicants) must be endorsed by either a Malaysian embassy in the issuing country or by the applicant’s own embassy in Malaysia, and then verified by MOFA. (Notarized affidavits alone are explicitly not accepted for confirming marital status.)

Source: Official JPN marriage registration guidelines (Portal JPN - Registration Of Marriage For Non-Muslim) (Portal JPN - Pendaftaran Perkahwinan Di Malaysia Tanpa Lesen Dan Pejabat Perwakilan Malaysia Di Luar Negara).

Immigration Department of Malaysia (JIM) – Immigration/Visa Documents

Entity: Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia – handles visas, permits, residency applications.

Requirements: For any immigration application, all supporting documents that are not in English or Bahasa Malaysia must be submitted with a certified translation into Malay or English. This rule applies to personal documents like birth, marriage, or academic certificates used for visas, permanent residency, or citizenship applications. In practice, the translation must be done by a qualified or government-accredited translator so that it is accepted as “certified” by the Immigration Department. For example, applicants for a Malaysian spouse visa are required to provide a certified Malay or English translation of a foreign marriage certificate if the original is in another language. Failing to provide proper certified translations can lead to delays or rejection of the application.

Source: Immigration document requirements summary (Translating Immigration Documents: Why, When, and Where - Word Philocaly) (see “Translating Immigration Documents” guidance).

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Wisma Putra) – Consular Attestation Services

Entity: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia (MOFA), Consular Division – commonly referred to as Wisma Putra.

Requirements: The Consular Division of MOFA provides legalisation/attestation of documents for use abroad or for foreign documents to be used in Malaysia. Because Malaysia is not a signatory to the Hague Apostille Convention, documents often must undergo a three-step authentication: notarisation by a Malaysian Notary Public, attestation by MOFA, and finally authentication by the relevant foreign embassy. In other words, MOFA will verify and stamp documents (or certified true copies) once it is satisfied they are genuine – frequently this means the document should first be certified by the appropriate authority (e.g. notarized or issued by a government agency). For documents originating outside Malaysia, MOFA explicitly requires that the document be authenticated by the foreign country’s embassy/high commission in Malaysia before MOFA will attest it. Additionally, any document in a foreign language must be translated into English (or Malay) before submission to MOFA for attestation. Once MOFA’s stamp is obtained, many foreign authorities will then accept the document; likewise, Malaysian authorities often require foreign documents to bear MOFA’s certification (after the foreign embassy’s endorsement) before recognizing them.

Source: Consular Division guidelines on document attestation (05-MAY-V07-SALE) (Malaysia.gov.my) and confirmation of the notarisation→MOFA→embassy process (Legal Translation & Document Legalisation in Malaysia | MYLegalTrans).

Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) – Business/Corporate Documents

Entity: Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM) – Companies Commission, which oversees company registration.

Requirements: For business registration involving foreign documents, SSM requires proper certification and translation of those documents. Notably, when registering a foreign company (or filing foreign-incorporation papers), any required document that is not in Malay or English must be accompanied by a certified translation into Malay or English (). Key corporate documents – such as the foreign company’s Certificate of Incorporation and constitutional documents – must be submitted as certified true copies (usually notarized by a notary or certified by an authorized official) (). If those originals are in another language, an official/certified translation is mandatory for SSM’s processing. This ensures that SSM can understand and legally accept the contents of foreign-language documents.

Source: SSM Guidelines for Registration of a Foreign Company

Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) – Academic/ Professional Credentials

Entity: Malaysian Medical Council – a statutory body under the Ministry of Health, regulating medical practitioner registration (serving as an example for academic/professional document requirements).

Requirements: For foreigners or graduates with credentials issued in languages other than English or Malay, the MMC mandates that you provide an official translation in Malay or English along with the certified copy of the original document. In its guidelines, MMC specifies that translated documents will only be accepted if the translation is done by a qualified translator or by an officer of the appropriate embassy. This means applicants must use translators accredited (e.g. court-certified translators or official translation agencies) or seek help from their embassy to translate, for example, medical degrees, transcripts, or letters, if those are in a third language. All pages of the original documents also need to be certified true copies by authorized personnel (which can include notaries or embassy officials) according to the MMC’s verification standards. These measures ensure authenticity and accuracy of academic documents used in professional registration.

Source: MMC guideline for document verification and translation (APPENDIX A - LIST OF DOCUMENTS FOR FULL REGISTRATION WITH MALAYSIAN MEDICAL COUNCIL UNDER SECTION 14 MEDICAL ACT, 1971) (Microsoft Word - 10.Verification - updated131011.doc).

Each of the above examples illustrates how Malaysian authorities require certified translations for any supporting documents not in the national languages, and often insist on a chain of authentication (notarisation and attestation by MOFA, plus embassy verification) for documents crossing borders. Always refer to the specific agency’s official guidelines for the exact procedures, as requirements may vary slightly by context. The linked sources are official government pages detailing these rules and procedures.