Certified Translations

Certified Translations

If a certified translation has to be submitted to a public authority or other institution, do not forget to inform the translator of this requirement at the time of placing an order. In this way, unnecessary extra charges for subsequent rework and revision can be avoided. Why? A certified translation must be identified as such, e.g. by a relevant heading and footer. This means that all pages must be numbered and provided with the same heading. Moreover, a certification remark must be added by the translator at the end of the translation. In contrast to ordinary translations, any and all special features and elements of the document must be described and stated in a certified translation (such as hand-written remarks, signatures, seals, erasures etc.).

You should also inform the translator, if you need several copies or an electronic copy of the certified translation. This can be particularly useful in connection with applications for a job which you may wish to send to various recipients (e.g. translations of school-leaving certificates or letters of recommendation etc.).

Please be aware that certified translations cannot be entrusted to any translator of your own choice but must be carried out by a translator authorised by the court for this purpose. Such a sworn translator is entitled to affix an official seal with his/her registration number to the certified translation. In addition, the certified translation MUST always be  affixed to the source document.

As a provider of legal translation services, I have often been confronted with the question, whether the entire document has to be translated in any case. Therefore I would like to point out that in many cases, translation by extracts would be accepted by the recipient. For example, if a translation of a divorce decree is required, some passages concerning the grounds of divorce, parental care or statutory pensions equalisation upon dissolution of marriage are extraneous and irrelevant to the matter. To avoid unnecessary expenditure, it should therefore be clarified beforehand, whether the complete document has to be translated or whether translation by extracts would be sufficient.

Cost of certified translations

To consider the amount of work involved in various kinds of texts, different rates have been provided for by the JVEG (German Act on remuneration of translators, interpreters and other experts appointed by the courts). Higher rates apply for instance to documents which are not made available in editable format (i.e. as hardcopy or in handwritten form). A premium also applies to documents containing lots of technical terms that require a good deal of research and knowledge in the special field of science.

Besides the price of the translation as such, the costs of additional copies, postage and the like are charged.