Certified/sworn translation

Part 1- General Information

By: Raheleh Ghiasvand Gh, MA, FCIL, CL, MITI and a sworn translator

Sworn/certified translation is guaranteed equivalent of the source language content in the target language. Once the translation is done, the sworn/certified translator pledges that the translation conforms to the original. This means that the final translation has the same legal value as an official document in the eyes of the official authorities.

In certain countries, there is a comprehensive sworn/certified translation system where a governmental authority (the Justice system in most cases) defines a procedure for such translation. The procedure include testing the first and second language knowledge of applicants, interviews, background checks and clean records to ensure the job of reproducing documents in another language is in good hands. Successful applicants are then awarded licenses with unique registration numbers and stamps. The date and signature of the sworn/certified translators are archived and checked each time they certify a document. A sworn/certified translation might be requested for a number of documents, civil acts, educational certificates, ID docs, business contracts, legal and court docs or even technical documents.

Not the same procedure prevails across all countries

In certain countries, further steps might be required once a sworn/certified translation is done. This might include certification, an apostil or legalization through the Chamber of Commerce, Justice Dept, Notary public offices or Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI).

Although sworn and certified translations are used interchangeably, in some countries certified translation is used when the credibility of the translator is verified by a notary public. In such cases, the notary officer does not check the quality of the translation as this is beyond their expertise, however they verify the translator’s IDs and credentials and approve that the translation has been carried out by the relevant accredited translator. Furthermore, in certain countries, specialized departments have been set up for sworn translation where the quality of the translation could randomly be checked by a team of qualified experts of the license granting authority. In that case, the result will be recorded in the licensee’s work history. The background is always important for sworn translators when they need to renew their licenses which varies from 1 to 3 years.