Certified translation services
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Request quoteHere at Mondo Agit, we offer certified translations in every official European language, as well as several non-European languages.
Certified or official translations are carried out by certified translators and certify that the content of the translated document matches that of the original.
This kind of translation is usually required for all official and legal procedures – i.e. when documents must be presented to authorities, businesses and institutions in countries where the language of the official document is not spoken.
Types of certified translation in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, there are different levels of certification for translations: basic certified translation, sworn translation or notarised translation. In addition, if the translation is to be used abroad, it may need to be legalised or apostilled. The level of certification depends on the body that has requested the translation. Therefore, we ask you to check which level of certification is required before requesting a quote.
Below we explain the different types of certified translation and the bodies who most often request them:
- Basic Certified Translation
In this type of translation, one of our professional translators, normally a member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting, produces the certified translation. Since the majority of institutions ask for it, we also attach the original text and a certificate guaranteeing that the translation is faithful to the original and stating the translator’s credentials.Bodies that ask for this type of translation are often official institutions in the United Kingdom such as the UK Border Agency (Home Office), Passport Office, UK NARIC, universities, etc. This is the most common type of certification.
- Legalisation of translation (Apostille)
If the documents have to be sent abroad, the sworn translation or notarised translation will need to legalised or apostilled by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). This process involves official confirmation that a signature or stamp on a document from the United Kingdom is genuine and is not an authentication of the content. Before requesting this service, check that the institution where the document is to be sent accepts this type of legalisation and that the target country is a member of the Hague Congress (http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=states.listing). If it is not, you will need to go to the relevant consulate and ask what you have to do.You can get the original and the translation legalised yourself, but if you prefer us to do it, we will send the documents to the FCO to be legalised and send them to you as soon as possible.
- Notarised Translation
For a notarised translation the translator has to declare under oath before a Notary Public that he or she has produced the translation. Normally, institutions that request a notarised translation also ask for the original, so you will have to supply us with a certified copy of the original.This type of translation is normally requested by foreign governmental institutions and authorities. Documents that required notarised translation include passports for working abroad, academic certificates, powers of attorney, etc. However, before requesting this service, we ask you to check with the body that has requested the translation to see which level of certification is necessary.
- Sworn Translation
In a sworn translation the translator has to declare under oath before a solicitor he or she has produced the translation. This type of translation is often requested by courts in the United Kingdom (for a divorce, criminal proceedings, etc.), so a certified original copy must be attached to the sworn translation. We do not offer a certification service for original documents, so you must provide us with a certified copy. As well as courts, this type of translation can also be requested by institutions that require a higher degree of faithfulness than that achieved with basic certified translations (for example, consulates).
Documents that require certified translations generally include:
- administrative documents, which can be public (voter registration forms, marriage certificates, criminal records, crime reports, etc.), private (employment certificates, references, contracts, etc.) or academic (grades, qualifications, etc.)
- notarial deeds of any kind
- legal documents (judgements, decisions, verdicts, etc.)
The translator’s work involves certifying and guaranteeing that the final translation is a faithful reflection of the original.
There are certified or official translators in practically every country. These translators may be certified by one or more countries, and in one or several languages. Generally, they will have taken some sort of exam in the country and language they are certified.
Here, you can select the service that you require for the certified translation:
Or, you can select a service depending on the kind of document to be translated:
Recognising and validating certified and sworn translations
Unfortunately, sworn and certified translators are not always equally recognised in every country. Therefore, a translation carried out by a translator certified in Portuguese, which has been reviewed by authorities in Spain, does not have to be accepted by government agencies in the UK. On the flipside, a translation carried out by a certified (or official) translator of Spanish, which has been reviewed by the UK, does not have to be accepted by government agencies in Spain.
Generally, the deciding factor in whether a certified translation is accepted in another country or not is the existence of an agreement between the country that examined the translator and the country where the translation is to be “used”.
We at Mondo Agit guarantee that our certified translators are authorised to certify translations in the country where they are expressly required and that our translations are therefore entirely valid there (if the customer does not specify otherwise, certified translations will, by default, be carried out by translators certified in the country where the office contacted by the customer is located). However, under no circumstances can we guarantee that other countries will accept the translation carried out by our translators, nor that the document itself will actually be valid for the customer’s needs (the client will have to research the processes and documents necessary for the procedure in question).
We currently perform sworn translations in several languages and across many countries, some of which include Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, France, Holland, Italy, Portugal, UK and Switzerland.
We also have contacts in other countries (including Brazil and some Arabic countries).
If you need a certified translation for another country, contact us and we will do our best to help you.