No. A translation submitted to USCIS does not need to be notarised, and the regulation that governs translated documents does not mention notarisation at all.
It is asked so often because it is sold so often. Notarisation appears as a $20 to $50 add-on at almost every translation provider, and an add-on offered at the moment of purchase reads as a requirement to somebody who has never filed before.
Two requirements, both of them about the translator. No notary, no seal, no witness.
What a notary actually does
A notary verifies that the person signing a document is who they say they are, and watches them sign it. That is the whole of the act.
A notary does not read the translation. A notary does not speak the source language. A notary has no view on whether the English is accurate, and is not qualified to have one.
So notarisation attests to a signature, not to a translation. Adding it to a certified translation confirms that the translator signed their own certificate — which nobody was disputing.
When you actually do want it
Notarisation is worth having in three situations, and none of them is a USCIS filing:
- A consulate or embassy asks for it. Many do, and their requirements are their own — they are not bound by 8 CFR.
- A court asks for it. Rules of evidence differ from agency filing requirements.
- A foreign authority asks for it, often alongside an apostille, which is a separate thing again.
If any of those is in your future, get it. If your filing is going to USCIS and nowhere else, it adds a fee and a day.
How to tell whether you are being sold it
Ask one question: what does notarisation add to this document?
An honest answer is "nothing USCIS requires, but your consulate may ask." A dishonest answer restates the price. A telling answer claims it is required — because the regulation is one paragraph long and freely available, and anyone selling translation for immigration has read it.
What we do
Notarisation is available and it is not in the base price, because charging everyone for something most people do not need is the same mistake in the opposite direction. USCIS does not require it, we say so on the page where it is sold, and it is there for the consulates and courts that do ask.
Sources
This is general information about how a record is produced, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. BonaFile is not a law firm and does not assess cases or predict outcomes.