Trusted legal translation
A certified translation by a sworn translator gives the translation the same validity at court or with authorities as the respective original document.
A certified translation is required for legal disputes e.g. when translated documents are to be submitted at court; when translated documents aimed for use in court have to be sent to parties with a foreign native language; or if a report by an expert has been translated into other languages.
Founding a company or M&A transactions abroad often require certified translations of company records, financial statements or corporate documents such as articles of association or a memorandum of association.
In Germany a certified translation can only be issued by translators who have taken a certain examination and have been sworn-in and publicly appointed by an official authority. Translators and interpreters have to swear an oath that they will faithfully and conscientiously carry out their profession, and that they will explicitly indicate when they are not sure about the correctness of the translation.
Translators are also required to indicate any discrepancies in the document (words that have been crossed out, handwritten notes etc.)
Read more: What does certification of a translation actually express?
We normally need you to send us the original document via post or courier. In order to save time, our translators can already start working with a scanned copy, providing we receive the original before the translation is finished. We then arrange for the translation and the original document to be returned to you.
In some cases, the authority who is to receive the translation requires the translation to be affixed to the original document. This could be the case for company records certified by a notary or certified copies. In order to avoid time delays, please ask the recipient in advance exactly what is needed.
Translations of documents or deeds issued in Germany that are to be used abroad might require legalisation for official acceptance. It is an additional endorsement that relates to the signature. Depending on the requirements of the institutions where the certificate is to be submitted, the endorsement can relate to the signature on the certificate or the signature of the sworn translator.
An apostille is a simplified form of certifying international authenticated documents and is valid in countries which are party to the Apostille Convention. It confirms that the signature on the certificate is genuine, it states in what capacity the person was acting and, if available, it confirms that the stamps and seals on the document are genuine.
Authentication is a process of authenticating or certifying a legal document by the diplomatic or consular representation of the foreign country where the document is to be used.
This process may also be referred to as superlegalisation. It confirms that the signature on the document is genuine, states in what capacity the person was acting, as well as confirming that the stamps and seals used on the document are genuine.