Certified translation: each country has its own rules

Why there is no single procedure

Certification is a national act: the translator is authorised by one state, under that state’s law. The authority that receives the translation decides what it accepts. The questions are the same everywhere — who certifies, what the certificate contains, paper or electronic — but the answers differ.

Czech Republic: the court translator

Act No. 354/2019 Coll.: «Překladatelskou činnost je oprávněn vykonávat soudní překladatel» — translation work is reserved to the court translator (§ 2(2)). The certificate (překladatelská doložka) and its contents are set by Decree No. 506/2020 Coll. (§ 24).

Czech: Ověřený překlad: postup a požadavky

Germany: the authorised translator under state law

Federal law (§ 142(3) ZPO) speaks of a translator authorised or publicly appointed under the law of the federal state and requires a certificate that the translation is correct and complete. The details are state law — Bavaria, for example, prescribes the wording (Art. 62 BayAGGVG).

German: Beglaubigte Übersetzung: Ablauf und Anforderungen

France: the expert at a court of appeal

A translator is listed as a judicial expert by a court of appeal (Loi n° 71-498, art. 2) and may use the title only as «expert près la cour d'appel de ...» or «expert agréé par la Cour de cassation» (art. 3). Neither the 1971 law nor the 2024 decree on legalisation prescribes a certification wording.

French: Traduction certifiée en France : déroulement et exigences

Italy: the oath before the court clerk

In Italy a translation becomes “giurata” by an oath received by the court clerk (R.D. 1366/1922, art. 5). The record contains the oath and «l'attestazione di conformità del testo tradotto al testo in lingua originale» — the statement that the translation matches the original.

Italian: Traduzione giurata in Italia: iter e requisiti

Netherlands: the sworn translator in the Wbtv register

Under the Wet beëdigde tolken en vertalers, a sworn translator is the person registered as such in the Register beëdigde tolken en vertalers (art. 1 and 2 Wbtv) and takes the oath or affirmation before the district court (art. 12 Wbtv).

Dutch: Beëdigde vertaling: verloop en vereisten

Poland: the sworn translator and the repertorium

Art. 18(2) of the Polish act requires the repertorium number on every certified translation and a statement «czy sporządzono je z oryginału, czy też z tłumaczenia lub odpisu, oraz czy tłumaczenie lub odpis jest poświadczony i przez kogo» — whether it was made from the original or from a copy, and whether that copy was certified and by whom.

Polish: Tłumaczenie poświadczone: przebieg krok po kroku

What to ask before you start

• Which country’s certification does the receiving authority accept?
• Original, certified copy or scan as the source?
• Paper with stamp, or electronic with a qualified signature?
• Is an apostille or legalisation needed — and is it translated too?

Where Lingverra fits

Lingverra produces a precise translation in the original layout and marks uncertain passages; the translation and the responsibility are yours. Review, certificate, signature and stamp stay with the translator authorised under the relevant national law.

Read more: Why Authorities Reject Certified Translations: A 7-Point Checklist