CERTIFIED TRANSLATION - SWORN TRANSLATION
Sworn or certified translations (sometimes also official translations) are completed in paper form and are bound together using a three-coloured binding to the original document, a notarized copy or a standard photocopy of the document.
Sworn translations
Sworn translations are a special category of translation used in official business with various state institutions, authorities, embassies, etc. They may also be required by some foreign employers. A sworn translation may even be needed in a variety of other situations, including when importing a vehicle or when registering for school abroad, when changing your permanent address, for a wedding held abroad, etc. Legal entities use sworn translations when submitting bids in public tenders and when signing important contracts where they need a guarantee that the translated contract corresponds exactly to the original text. These translations may only be completed by designated translators who must complete demanding testing before receiving their official round stamps, and the price of these translations reflects this fact.
Clients most often contact us for sworn translations of
- agreements (all types)
- extract from the Commercial Register
- accounts
- tax returns
- study reports
- birth certificates
- marriage certificates
- death certificates
- extracts from criminal records
- invoices or purchase contracts
- certificates
- diplomas
- vehicle registration papers
- certificates
- conformity declarations
- deregistrations of vehicles
- evidence of proficiency
Before ordering a sworn translation
You’ll certainly have questions when ordering a sworn translation for the first time. We’d be happy to answer, just give our office a call. If you decide to come and order a translation in person, please answer the following questions before coming in to the agency in person:
Do I really need a sworn translation?
(sworn translation = official translation = translation with stamp = officially certified translation = certified translation) Does the institution requesting the translation require an officially certified translation showing the mark of an official stamp?
How will be the translation bound?
There are 3 options for binding a translation:
- with the original document
- with a copy of the original document certified by a notary
- with a standard copy
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: the manner in which the translation is bound (or what specifically is to be provided for binding to the translation) is not up to us (the agency or the translator); it is the domain of the institution to which the translation will be submitted. Check in advance if you are unsure so that you can tell us this important detail in advance.
Further specification of the individual options
If you need the translation bound to the original document, please be aware that holes are punched in the original document and it will be permanently bound to the translation. After turning over such bound document to the relevant institution, you may find yourself missing the original document in the future. Therefore, never bind the translation, for instance, of a diploma, to the original document. Originals in most cases are bound to translations if these documents may be issued, signed, stamped, etc. again (such as a criminal record).
How to order a certified translation
Process for ordering a sworn translation: The institution requesting that you provide a sworn translation (institution, business partner, employer, etc.) shall tell you the specific type of document to bind to the translation.
For more information on these options, please, click here.When you approach us with a request for a quote, please provide the following:
- that you need a certified or official translation (or how many copies you need);
- the source and the target language (especially important if the source is a multilingual text);
- Please specify the binding type, and the form and date of delivery of the original or a copy certified by the notary;
- Send the scanned version or a photo of the entire document for translation to info@top-preklady.sk, or deliver the document in person.
- provide a desired completion date or the latest possible date by which the translation must be completed;
- choose a method of translation delivery (in person, by post or via courier);
- provide your contact details for follow-up questions (especially a phone number) and complete invoicing details (full permanent address is sufficient for individuals). If you are not a registered VAT payer, we have the ability to invoice you exclusive of the VAT, which saves you 20%.
Once we have all the necessary information we will prepare a price quote and send it to you for approval. If you are satisfied with our quotation and you agree to the price calculation via email, which functions as confirmation of the translation order, we’ll consider your order confirmed and begin working on the translation. If you want to be certain that your order arrived, and you have not received confirmation from us via email, please give us a call to check or request immediate confirmation of its receipt.
Looking submit your request quickly and conveniently? Use our request form and we’ll get right back to you with a non-binding price calculation.
*If you order a translation from a language that uses another system of characters (e.g. Cyrillic) and the text has proper names (e.g. a Russian birth certificate), the translator requires their defined transliteration into Latin characters (typically from a passport) so as to avoid a potential situation where the details on the sworn translation do not match those details provided on officially issued records.
Deadlines and delivery
Turnaround times
Our standard turnaround time for a short certified/official translation is 1-3 business days, depending on language and document type. We provide better turnaround times for short certified translations from/to English and German, but it largely depends on the workload of our translators. We’ll provide the most price-friendly standard completion date in the calculation. If you need the translation by a specific date, please specify this date in your request and we’ll determine if the scope of your text is subject to an express translation fee or not; if so, we’ll specify its amount into the quotation.Translation delivery
Sworn translations must be handed over in physical format given they are bound with the three-colour thread and are stamped with the translator’s official stamp. The translation may be picked up in person from our office, or we can send it by first class mail, COD or via registered mail if paid via transfer in advance. Please specify any other form of delivery (such as a courier) in your request if you are interested. The list prices for individual types of delivery are available here.
FAQ
Completing a quotation is a relatively complicated matter and includes the following points that we cannot complete without having the actual text:
- we define the exact scope of the translation (given that one physical page is counted as two for sworn translations if there are more than 1800 characters, we need to examine the text and then get back to you)
- we take a detailed look at the stamps on the document as often they are in a different language than the original and may fundamentally change the approach to completing the order as sworn translators cannot translate languages for which they are unlicensed and the institution to which you are submitting the translation may call the entire translation into question over the matter of a translated stamp;
- we analyse the document in detail to determine if there are any passages in another language (e.g. the entire text is written in Cyrillic, but the first and last sections are in Kazakh and the remainder in Russian;
- we check to ensure the original is complete, as we cannot give the translator a text that clearly lacks the required signature (if such signatures are certainly required on the document);
- we assess the text for repetitions within a single document, or across multiple documents if they are similar and we give you a corresponding discount;
- if you provide us with multiple similar documents, we check to determine if they are completely identical, and if so, we only charge you for a sworn copy in each case;
- based on our experience, we can notify you if we find any discrepancies in the original text that could cause problems in the future (such as documents intended for use abroad, where certification is not directly from the notary, but rather their clerk, or the document has only been certified by the Registry Office);
- based on a preview of the document, we confirm the ability to translate the document with the required type of binding (while some documents, such as diplomas, are never bound to the original);
- we inform you on the specific approach to the project given the condition of the document itself;
- we verify the legibility of the document (what cannot be read cannot be translated);
- sometimes relatively straightforward texts contain a single sentence with highly technical specifications, which impacts the translator we select and the price and time for delivery;
- we calculate a fixed price based on all these circumstances which is final for you and ensures there are no unpleasant surprises when you come to pick up your translation;
- we define an exact completion date (because once we see a document, we know which translator is right for the job and we can propose a delivery date based on their current workload).
Our calling card is hundreds of satisfied customers who are happy to come back and do business with us again.
We reward them with generous loyalty discounts.