What is certified translation – and what it isn’t
What is certified translation? When do you need one? The following article will clear things up for you.
What is certified translation?
If your document requires a “certified translation” or a “certificate of accuracy”, the original text and translation are accompanied by a signed statement from the translator or the translation company. With this statement, the translator or the company’s owner confirms the accuracy and competence of the translation.
Larger companies typically leave their translation projects entrusted to the experienced and well-qualified translators and translation agencies which have professional translation staff, editor and lecturer who as a last resort before being handed over to the translation of the client, examines the results and confirms.
Choosing a translation agency is always a more adequate choice because although a freelance translator can provide a certified translation in the US, you won’t have the guarantee that the translation will be accepted by the immigration office. A translation agency will be better equipped to verify the translations that require certification. This is a bit more complicated if your translator is chosen at random from an online database of linguists.
Which situations require a certified translation?
Almost every legal documentation, including documentation used in trials or hearings, requires a certified translation. In litigation for example, having a transcript or any type of document in another language which could be used as evidence in court, the translation of this type of document should only be a certified copy.
The same practice applies in cases where you need to submit any type of document to a legal or governmental authority. In this case the translation must be done in accordance with the principles of a certified translation.
Another situation is in immigration proceedings where the procedure requires a large number of documents, ranging from identification documents and other statements. These documents are always in the original language of the country of origin of the person and before submitting in immigration proceedings, the documents must be translated into the appropriate language of the country in which you open immigration proceedings. All translations in this case must be exclusively certified translations, and some of the documents even require notarization by public notary.
For example, if you are applying for residence or a temporary residence permit in a foreign country, all documents that must be submitted to the services are required to be submitted in the official language of the country.
Where you apply for enrollment in a university or college, the common practice is also to require a certified translation of your documents such as diplomas, transcripts or certificates. This is usually required in cases of enrollment at a university or college for foreign students, in which the application provides evidence for earlier completion. All these diplomas and transcripts in this case are in the language of the home country of the student and always require translation into the language of the country in which you are applying for admission.
Depending on the policy of the university or college, some may require you to submit original documents together with their corresponding certified translation, and in some cases, notarization by a notary public. But sometimes in some of these instances it is sufficient to apply only the certified translations of your documents. So before you apply in these educational institutions and before you send your documents, be sure to inform yourself about the documents and the manner of certification required.
These are just some of the classic examples of situations in which you need a certified translation in the United States.
In what cases you do not need a certified translation
Contrary to previous cases that required a certified translation, there are many situations that do not require a certified translation. This category includes all personal documents that will be submitted for the purpose of a judicial procedure, old family letters and documents do not require a certified translation. Also, an example of a situation in which a certification translation is not required is the translation of the content of a website.
If you have any doubt whether or in what situations you should get a certified translation, it is best to contact the person, institution or company that will lodge your documents. Requirements in individual instances may vary based on the type or purpose of those documents, so do a brief consultation and inform yourself of the requirement for a certified translation.
This should clear up the question what is certified translation, where you need it, and which documents do not require certification. If you have any other questions, feel free to get in touch with us and you’ll get a reply in seconds.
