It goes without saying that Translation Agency can provide you with certified translations. It is equally obvious that these translations are of the highest quality. There is a good reason why we hold the highest certification attainable in the translation industry, namely: ISO 9001 & ISO 17100. And, as you have come to expect from us, we offer unbeatable rates due to our special method.

But what is a certified translation?

What is the added value of a certified translation, why would you choose a certified translation, and when do you absolutely need one?

In short, you must provide a certified translation if you need a foreign document for an official act in your home country, or if you need a document for an official act abroad. Certified translations give countries certainty about the status of other countries’ documents. This mainly involves birth certificates, marriage certificates, diplomas, Chamber of Commerce extracts, notarial deeds, customs documents, court rulings, etc.

The work begins with the sworn translator. In order to provide a certified translation, this translator has sworn an oath before a court which obliges him to perform his translation work to the best of his knowledge and ability. Not just anyone can walk into a court and become a sworn translator; in order to quality for this, a translator must be able to demonstrate, by meeting certain qualifications, that he complies with strict professional requirements. Once a translator is sworn, he can enroll in the Register of Sworn Translators and Interpreters and start providing certified translations.

A certified translation looks somewhat different from an ordinary translation; it is twice as thick. The certified translation is not only equipped with a signature, a stamp, and a statement by the sworn translator, but also includes the original source text.

Apostille and legalisation

A certified translation may also need to be subject to an apostille. This means the court attaches a form to the certified translation and confirms that the signature by the sworn translator is authentic.

Once all this has been done, it has been shown that the translator understands his profession and that the translation is a true reflection of the included original, and that the translator has also been identified as the actual translator. The receiving foreign body can now process the certified and legalised translation as if it were an original.

At present, more than 100 countries are members of the Apostille Convention. For countries which have not signed this treaty, legalisation of documents applies.

Such a legalisation process revolves around determining that the document is issued and signed by an authorised person working for a competent authority. The route usually ends with a signature by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country that issued that original document. But before it gets there, there are usually a number of steps involved, in which a higher authority is always determining whether a previous signatory was authorised or not.

Once the final signature has finally been obtained, you have an authenticated document which you can use in another country. 99% of the work is now done: officials, procedures, and queues are a thing of the past. The only thing left to do is to contact the certified translation agency, Translation Agency™ and obtain a high quality certified translation at a competitive price. It does not matter where you are in the world, we are always nearby: we live and work on the Internet. One phone call or e-mail is enough to put us to work.