I received a letter in another language. What do I do?
Short version: don’t ignore it, make a copy, work out who sent it, get it explained in plain language (not just translated), and follow the specific steps for your situation. That’s five moves, in order. A letter you can’t read isn’t only a translation problem. It’s an understanding problem: what does it actually mean, and what, if anything, do you need to do about it.
A tax notice from an office you’ve never dealt with before. A lease renewal from a landlord who doesn’t share your language. A hospital bill full of codes you don’t recognize. A court summons that might as well be written in symbols. If you live somewhere your first language isn’t the local one, a letter like this eventually lands on your kitchen counter. You know it might matter. You don’t know how much.
Here’s what to do, step by step.
Step 1: Don’t ignore it
This is the mistake that costs people the most: setting an unread letter aside because it’s easier than facing it. Official mail (government notices, tax paperwork, court correspondence) can come with real deadlines attached, and some of those deadlines don’t wait for you to find someone to translate them.
The rule: if it arrived from a source that looks official (a government letterhead, a stamp, a barcode, a reference number), treat it as worth your attention until you know otherwise.
Even before you understand a single word, look for:
- An official logo or letterhead at the top of the page
- Numbers that look like amounts of money, with a currency symbol
- Dates, especially ones close to today
- Bold or highlighted text, often used for warnings
- A reference or case number, which usually means you’re already in someone’s system
You don’t need to understand every word before you start. You just need to start.
Step 2: Copy or scan the whole document
Before anything else, make a clear digital copy. Your phone camera works fine, so does a scanner. Capture every page, not just the first one: official letters often run several pages, and the page that matters most isn’t always up front. Photograph the envelope too. The return address and postmark can help identify who sent it.
Keep the copy somewhere you won’t lose it: email it to yourself, save it to the cloud, or upload it straight to a service that can explain it.
Step 3: Work out who sent it, and what kind of letter it is
Knowing the sender tells you a lot about how seriously to take a letter, even before you know what it says. You can usually tell the general category from visual cues alone:
| What it looks like | Likely source | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| National emblem, agency name, reference number | Government or tax authority | Can carry a real deadline |
| Court name, case number, official stamp | Court | Worth prioritizing |
| Bank logo, partially masked account numbers | Bank or financial institution | Financial implications |
| Hospital or clinic logo, patient ID | Medical provider | Health implications |
| Landlord or property company name | Lease or rental document | Affects your housing |
| Insurance company logo, policy number | Insurer | May affect your coverage |
| Utility company logo, meter numbers | Utility provider | May affect your service |
A government emblem, a court stamp, or anything that reads like a case number is a good reason to move this letter to the top of the pile.
Step 4: Get it explained, not just translated
This is where most people stop too soon. A word-for-word translation hands you the vocabulary, but not necessarily the meaning: a specific legal term can carry an exact requirement, and a raw translation can leave you to guess at it.
What actually helps is three things, together:
- What it says: the words, translated
- What it means: the legal or bureaucratic language, explained in plain terms
- What to do: the specific next step, and by when
That’s the difference between a translation and an explanation. Not every letter needs the same level of help, either. Here’s an honest look at your options:
| Option | Good for | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Google Translate | A quick, free read on something low-stakes: an invitation, a casual note | Legal and bureaucratic language often doesn’t translate cleanly, and it won’t tell you what to do next |
| A bilingual friend | Anything informal, where a second opinion helps | Fair to ask for a birthday card. A lot to ask for a tax notice |
| A certified translation agency | Documents you’re submitting to a court, embassy, or agency that requires one by name | Certified human translation typically runs $25 to $60 a page, and takes days, not minutes |
| What Does This Say? | Understanding what a letter means and deciding what to do about it | Not a certified translation, and not a lawyer. It tells you if you need one |
The right choice depends on what the letter is for, not just what it says.
Step 5: Follow the next step for your situation
Once you know what the letter means, what you do next depends on what kind of letter it is.
- Note the deadline, if there is one, and put a reminder in your calendar
- Work out whether you need to respond, pay, or show up somewhere
- If you want to contest it, look into that agency’s appeals process
- Keep every piece of correspondence; you may need the reference number later
- Check for anything about rent increases, notice periods, or your responsibilities as a tenant
- Reply in writing if the letter asks you to acknowledge it
- File a copy with your other housing paperwork
- Share the explained version with your doctor if it affects your care
- Check for any recommended follow-up
- Confirm the billing and insurance details are correct
- This is the one category where it’s also worth talking to a local lawyer
- Note any hearing date or filing deadline right away
- Responding, even to contest it, is usually safer than staying silent
What if this keeps happening?
If you live somewhere your first language isn’t spoken, this isn’t a one-time thing. Letters like this keep arriving: tax season, insurance renewals, a change in your local registration, a new bill format. A little bit of your own system goes a long way:
- Keep a folder, physical or digital, for anything official
- Set calendar reminders ahead of recurring dates: tax deadlines, lease renewals, insurance renewals
- Keep a short glossary of terms you keep seeing; you’ll start recognizing them
- Deal with each letter as it arrives, rather than letting a pile build up
We don’t keep a record of your documents on our end (nothing you upload is stored), so the system that keeps working over time is yours to build, one letter at a time.
Frequently asked questions.
Is Google Translate enough to understand an official letter?
A translation tells you what it says. What Does This Say? tells you what it means — and what to do.
The deadline on my letter is hard to read. What should I do?
Treat anything that looks like a date, a number, or highlighted text as potentially important, even if you can't read the surrounding words. If you can't tell whether there's a deadline, that's exactly the kind of thing to get explained before you set the letter aside. It's one of the few mistakes on official mail that's hard to undo once it's passed.
Do I need a certified translation?
Only if you're submitting the document to a court, an embassy, or an agency that specifically asks for one. If your goal is to understand what the letter says and figure out what to do, a plain-language explanation gets you there faster, and a certified translation wouldn't tell you the next step anyway.
Which letters should I take seriously?
Anything from a government agency, tax authority, court, landlord, insurer, employer, or medical provider. An official letterhead, a stamp, or a reference number is a reasonable sign it’s worth understanding before you decide it can wait.
You don’t have to guess at what an official letter means, or wait until you find someone who can translate it for you. Try your first document free and see what it actually says, and what to do next.
If you’re in Spain and weighing whether to handle something yourself or bring in a professional, the pros guide walks through who to consult and when.