Sworn/certified translation

Language is almost like air. We are rarely aware of its existence… unless we come into contact with a different atmosphere or with a different language – José María Tortosa

Sworn translations, also known as ‘certified translations’, are necessary when there is a requirement for the document in question to have legal validity. The kind of documents involved include those issued by the Register Office, in other words, birth, marriage and death certificates, the registration papers for cars brought in from abroad, driving licences, personal identity cards, contracts and agreements, powers of attorney and proxy, notarial deeds, certificates and diplomas, company registration documents, professional licenses.

Given the specific nature of sworn translation, we have provided a guideline to some of the most crucial points below in order to help you make the right decisions as regards the details of your order:

• A sworn translator is obliged to make an annotation on the translation whether it was carried out on the basis of the original document ,or a copy. Translations made on the basis of a copy are valid. However, some administrative bodies may require that the translations presented to them are made on the basis of the original document; this occurs, for example, in the case of the courts and the Register Office. So if you wish to deliver a photocopy of a document for translation, then we would advise you to check with the relevant authority first as to whether or not a translation from a copy will be accepted.
• As a rule, only a single copy of a sworn translation is issued. A fee is charged for any additional copies.
• A standard page for a sworn translation consists of a total of 1,125 keystrokes.
• Sworn translations are issued in printed form and are thus collected in person. We can also send them by post or courier (against an extra fee). In addition, if you wish, we can send a scan of your sworn translation by e-mail. However, this will have no legal validity and serves only to allow you to check the contents before receiving the original.
• If you have a translation which was carried out by a non-sworn translator, then a sworn translator can certify that translation for you. They will thoroughly scrutinise it to ensure that it is correct and will then certify that it conforms with the original by adding their seal and signature. This service is cheaper than having a sworn translation carried out from scratch. However, it is only possible if the non-sworn translation is high quality and requires no significant revision.
• Sworn translators registered in Poland may only carry out translations from a foreign language into Polish or from Polish into a foreign language. They may not translate from one foreign language into another. So if you require a sworn translation from, for instance, German into English, then you will need to have the document translated first from German into Polish and then from Polish into English.

We invite you to send your inquiry using free quote form or to info@exlibro.pl.