Document Translations With Legal Value: Which One Is Important For You?

[:en]Certified translation, sworn translation, apostille translation or legalized translation? Can’t figure out which translation you need? Continue reading this guide on document translations, and at the end, you will finally have a clear idea of what the correct procedure is so that the translation of your document is as per your conditions.

The starting point is that a simple translation is not enough for a document to have value in a country other than the one it was issued. To have legal value, a document must go through a more or less long process of stamps and authentications based on the number of offices that must view it.

Certified Translation

Certified document translation is a translation certified by the translator who carried it out. The translator does not go to the Court to swear its truthfulness before a public official, as in the case of a sworn translation.

The certified translation is required in English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom, the USA or Canada. But when is a certified translation sufficient and a sworn, apostille or legalized translation is not necessary? It depends on the entity requesting it. A certified translation is sufficient if a “Certified Translation” has been requested from an English-speaking country.

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Sworn translation

The sworn translation (or, more correctly, sworn translation) is the one that the translator has sworn in before a court. After having carried out the translation, the translator then goes to the Translation Sworn Office of a Court, generally at the same Court in which he is registered (in the register of technical consultants and experts).

Here he presents a single file in which all the sheets are stapled to form a single act, consisting of the document in the original language. In front of the chancellor, he pronounces the ritual formula: “I swear I have faithfully and faithfully fulfilled the task entrusted to me for the sole purpose of making the truth known”. The chancellor then stamps and signs the sworn statement: the translation is now a sworn translation.

As for the costs, the cost of a sworn translation is greater than the cost of a simple or certified translation not only because the translator has to go to the Court to take the oath but also because, on the sworn translation, it is necessary to apply a revenue stamp.

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Translation with apostille

A translation with apostille (or apostille) is a translation that has been affixed with the postmark of the Public Prosecutor’s office, as required by 1961. Through the apostille, a document takes on legal value in all countries that have signed the agreement with only the stamp of the Italian authorities (and therefore without going through the Consulate in the country where the document translation is to be used).

To tell the truth, the apostille can also be placed by the Prefecture, in the case of personal documents or documents issued, for example by a Chamber of Commerce.

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Conclusion

you can follow the guide provided above to understand which countries accept the apostille and which ones, on the other hand, require the longer procedure of double legalization in the Prosecutor’s Office and in the Consultation. For EU countries, from 2019 an apostille is not required for personal and criminal certificates, as well as for all public documents.

It is also possible to request multi-language certificates (of birth, marriage and death) which do not require translations. In some countries, such as San Marino, Switzerland, Argentina, and Turkey, bilateral agreements are in force for which the apostille is not required for some personal documents. So, choose the kind of translation you want wisely.[:]