Do you know what Sworn Translations are and why they are important?
Sworn translations have been increasingly demanded over the past years due to globalization, migration, tourism, and internationalization of markets. Documents and content need to be adapted to the current laws of a specific country.
Find out more about these type of certified translations:
What are Sworn Translations and why are they important?
Sworn translations have been increasingly demanded over the past years due to globalization, migration, tourism and internationalization of markets. Documents and content need to be adapted to the current laws of a specific country. When it comes to the translation of a legal or administrative document, there is a special process that has to be carried out.
A sworn translation (also called certified translation) has to be endorsed by the signature and seal of a Sworn Translator. These translators have a special authorization by a Foreign Office to translate official documents, which means that they have a formal status by the authorities. A sworn translation is certified to be equivalent to the original source document, and it has the same legal value. Different types of documents could require a sworn translation: civil certificates, wills, notary contracts, technical, legal or administrative documents, diplomas, scholar certifications, company statutes, and many others.
Who are sworn translators?
Sworn translators have the ability to legalize different types of documents that require authentication and validation according to the laws of the specific country in which it has to be presented. In this way, sworn translators are internationally recognized as the professionals in title to submit these documents before governmental departments, entities or organizations.
To become a Sworn Translator, candidates must have a Master’s degree in foreign languages or a diploma from a specialized school and apply with the Public Prosecutor. The process to obtain the license of Sworn Translator differs from one country to another. But they all need to carry a certificate whose signature and seal have been registered by the Foreign Office through the District Council of the region in which the translator works.
Sworn translators need to have knowledge in linguistics, terminology and legislation because they must dominate specific ethical codes and follow precise rules.
Sworn translators are competent to:
- Translate documents
- Make certified copies or printouts of documents they translate
- Advise clients and arrange the authentication of documents to be translated or translations with an apostille
- Translate laws and international agreements
What’s the difference between legal, certified, and sworn translations?
Legal translation can be understood as a specialized translation that consists of translating legal documentation from one language to another. What types of legal documents can be translated? They can be legal agreements, legislative texts and even articles related to legal topics.
Legal translators are specialized in the field of law. Legal translators not only have domain of the legal terminology, they also have a profound knowledge about the jurisprudence of each specific country of the languages involved in the translation process. To make legal documents official, they usually need to be certified for validation.
On the other hand, certified translations are provided by translation agencies to guarantee the accuracy of a translation. These agencies provide certification to ensure that the final document corresponds to the original version. This sort of certification is generally used for legal purposes. For this reason, there is fundamental to work with translators specialized in the legal field.
Finally, sworn translations are documents that are signed and sealed by professional translators who have the proper authorization to fulfil this role. As we mentioned before, these linguists have to make a legal validation the enables them to provide official translations. Sworn translations ensure that documents have the same legal value in different jurisdictions. There are many cases in which legal documents need to be certified by sworn translators.
When does a company need a sworn translation?
When a company needs to translate a legal document for submission to an authority in the country of residence or in another country, it is necessary to have a sworn translation. In many cases, these translations are the only formats that will be accepted by municipalities or courts for legal proceedings.
In order to make your documents internationally valid, they need to be translated and adapted not only in the terminology, but also following the specific’s laws of your target country. Most of these documents need to be signed and sealed by a sworn translator.
At Stillman Translation, we provide certified translations in many language pairs, as we work with sworn translators from different parts of the world. We help companies, organizations and individuals who need their translation to be certified or sworn. We can provide fast sworn translation solutions, as well as notarized translations. Contact us to get a free quote!
References
https://www.just.ee/en/sworn-translators
https://languageburo.com/blog/legal-certified-and-sworn-translations-explained
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