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Certified translation in Ireland: who translates and who certifies

Irish official guidance asks for two separate steps: the translation itself, by a professional translating service, and the certification of the copy by an authorised person. Below is what the official guidance says.

Key facts

  • Documents not in English must be translated by a professional translating service. [1]
  • The copy is certified separately — by a solicitor, commissioner for oaths, peace commissioner or notary public. [1]
  • Documents from other EU countries need no apostille under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191. [5]

Who translates, and who certifies the copy

  • “If your documents are in a language other than English, you must get them translated by a professional translating service.” The Irish Translators’ and Interpreters’ Association publishes a list of professional translators. [1]
  • Certification of the copy is a separate step from translation: “Your photocopy must be certified by a solicitor, commissioner for oaths, peace commissioner or a notary public.” [1]
  • For naturalisation applications you are “only required to provide a certified colour photocopy of the biometric page of your current passport” — and the Immigration Service Delivery can still ask for your full passport. [1]

Having a foreign qualification recognised

  • “You can compare your foreign qualification to an Irish qualification of a similar type on the NARIC website. NARIC compares academic qualifications based on the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).” [2]
  • The NFQ “is a system of 10 levels used to describe qualifications in the Irish education and training system”; you search the NARIC database and download a comparability statement. [2]
  • If your qualification is not listed, “NARIC may be able to give you a generic comparability statement”; recognition advice is requested through an online form. [2]
  • NARIC Ireland “provides advice on the academic recognition of a foreign qualification by comparing it, where possible, to a major award at a certain level on the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ)” — it is advice, not a licence to practise. [3]

Apostilles: what the official sources actually say

  • An apostille and a certified translation are different things. The apostille confirms a signature, seal or stamp on a public document; it says nothing about the translation. [4]
  • The Irish apostille runs the other way from what most people assume. The Department of Foreign Affairs states: “We can only legalise Irish public documents.” That covers Irish documents going abroad — not foreign documents coming into Ireland. [4]
  • The Department also declines to answer the question for you: “We cannot tell you if your document needs to be legalised for use abroad. You should contact the relevant requesting authority in the country where you will use the document.” [4]
  • For documents issued in another EU country, no apostille is needed: authorities “must accept your document as authentic without an apostille stamp” under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191. This covers areas such as birth, death, marriage, parenthood and absence of a criminal record. [5]
  • Instead of a translation you may ask the issuing EU authority for a multilingual standard form, presented “together with the document, instead of presenting a translation”. Authorities may still “exceptionally ask you to provide a certified translation”. [5]
  • For documents from outside the EU, the official Irish guidance on naturalisation and on qualification recognition does not mention apostilles at all — it asks for a translation by a professional service. Silence is not an exemption, and it is not a requirement either. [1]
  • So the practical rule is the one the Department itself gives: ask the body you are submitting to. Do not buy an apostille on the assumption that Ireland requires one, and do not assume it is never asked for. [4]

Academic vs professional recognition

  • For a regulated occupation such as teaching or accountancy “you will need to have your professional qualification recognised”, and “the process for getting your professional qualification recognised is different from having your academic qualification recognised”. [2]
  • Applicants coming from Ukraine: Quality and Qualifications Ireland publishes information about its academic qualifications recognition service in Ukrainian. [2]

Based on the official sources listed below (as at July 2026). Requirements depend on the body receiving your documents — check with them before paying for a translation.

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Sources

All of the above comes from official sources:

  1. Citizens Information (gov.ie) — Becoming an Irish citizen through naturalisation: documentation
  2. Citizens Information — Getting your foreign qualification recognised in Ireland (NARIC/NFQ)
  3. QQI — NARIC Ireland: qualification recognition advice
  4. Department of Foreign Affairs (Ireland) — Authentications and Apostilles
  5. Your Europe (European Commission) — Getting public documents accepted in the EU (Regulation 2016/1191)
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