If you’ve got a document and need it translating for official purposes, you’ll need a court-certified translation. Some examples could be birth and marriage certificates, business documents, and almost anything needed translating for a state/government office or institution. Although knowing when you need a court-certified translation might be a bit confusing, we fully recommend checking with the office you need the translation for before order the translation. That’s because there is a very big difference between a normal translation and a certified one.
Although all translations are pretty much the same, certified translations are a bit more complex. First of all, they can’t be done by any translator, they have to be done by a translator that’s officially been granted certified translator status by the courts. And not all professional translators are, even if you go to a professional agency. These certified translators have a special stamp, so official bodies can check they are genuine.
To put it simply, no. Although different countries vary slightly when it comes to what they need to do a certified translation, we’ll take the Czech Republic here as an example. Our court certified translators need the original document or a certified copy, as they will need to attach the translation to the original. They will then stamp it and bind it all together with an official court clause and a stamp. Although it’s a bit awkward, in the Czech Republic we’re not legally allowed to do a certified translation without this.
Unlike normal translations which are charged per word, certified translations are charged per page. If you have any further questions we’ll be happy to help!
Author: Lukáš Utíkal