Legal Translation Services

In the UK, there is no such thing as an official "sworn translation system" as they do in countries such as France, Spain, Portugal etc. where there are governing bodies regulating sworn translators. Instead here in the UK we have three types of official translation, depending on the situation:

  1. Certified Translations
  2. Notarised Translations
  3. Legal Translations

This is usually for translations going into English and the documents are for use in the UK or any other English-speaking country.

Certified Translations

This is a translation that is signed and stamped as a true and exact translation of the source document. It is often referred to as a sworn translation but this is incorrect. If your document is for official use within the UK this is probably what you need but it is always best to check with the entity requesting the translation.

Notarised Translations

This is generally a certified translation of a document that is brought before a Notary Public and notarised. This does not make the translation any more official. It simply verifies that the document has been translated by the person who signs / stamps it.

Legal Translations

This is when a translation needs to be legally valid for use in another country. The Foreign Commonwealth Office is in charge of this step in the UK. However they will only accept a translation if it has been through the previous two steps (certified and notarised). We can take care of all three steps and we need around one to two weeks for the entire process.

Sworn Translations

We work alongside a great deal of sworn translators all over the world. Depending on the country, there are different sworn translation systems in place. For example, in France, we work with a court-sworn translator and when he is finished with the document no further steps are required to make the translation official. Whereas in Portugal, the sworn translator must go before a Notary with the translation to verify.

What type of translation do you need?

If you have been told by a government official, a court representative, or anyone from an official entity that you require a document to be translated, we recommend that you are very specific in asking what type of translation is required. A certified translation? A notarised translation? A sworn translation? A legalised translation? Once you have clarified the type of official translation required, we will be able to provide you with an accurate quotation for both the price and how long the translation will take.

What type of documents require official translation?

The following are just a few types of documents that often require certified, notarised, sworn or other official translation:

Leeds Translation Services Translation Agency Reviews

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In the past year, Leeds Translation Services has been working with many clients providing a wide-range of legalised & sworn translation services and we have received 1,148 reviews across various review-channels for our legal translator's work. As of the 1st of December 2024, the overall rating for our legal translation services provided as a company was 4.4 out of 5 stars. If you have used our legal translation services and would like to leave a review for other would-be clients to see, please see: Review Leeds Translation Services.