Certified translations

Our clients often ask us if we can provide 'certified', 'sworn' or 'official' translations, particularly of legal documents such as birth and marriage certificates.

The ITI (Institute of Translators and Interpreters) provides clear and comprehensive guidance on the different types of 'official' translations. Essentially, since the UK is a common law country and not a civil law county, there is no such thing as a sworn translator. This means the only options in the UK are certification, notarisation and legalisation.

According to the official UK government website, in order to certify a translation, a translator (or translation company) must confirm in writing on the translation:

• that it’s a ‘true and accurate translation of the original document’
• the date of the translation
• the full name and contact details of the translator or a representative of the translation company

This can be done by stamping and signing each page of the document and/or by providing a certificate that is attached to a copy of the original document and the translation. Certification is sufficient for most purposes, but to add extra weight translators can include evidence of their qualifications, in the form of post-nominal initials or a seal from an official body such as the ITI or CIOL (Chartered Insitute of Linguists).

If further authentication is required, the signing of the document can be witnessed by a solicitor (in the form of an affidavit) or Notary Public (notarisation). However, the solicitor or Notary cannot endorse the quality of the translation so this step only verifies the authenticity of the signature.  SImilarly, while an Apostille verifies the authenticity of the signature and ensures that the document is recognised in all States that signed the Hague Convention of 1961 (legalisation); it does not endorse the content of the document.

You can find more information about the certification services we offer here.