References, certificates, contracts, etc.: certified translations
Do you need translations of official documents – officially certified? You can entrust us with your confidential and personal papers to translate – professionally and with an official stamp.
Do you need translations of official documents – officially certified? You can entrust us with your confidential and personal papers to translate – professionally and with an official stamp.
Do you need a certified translation?
Are you planning to stay abroad for a while? Are you going to marry, but you and your partner do not have the same nationality? Do you want to set up a company in another country, or you and your contractual partner do not speak the same language? Then it could be that you need official documents – such as references, birth certificates and non-marriage certificates, or business documents including a certificate or registration and contracts of all kind – to be translated with an official certification.
What is a certified translation?
A certified translation is an officially verified translation of a document. It must be a true reproduction of the original document, both in terms of content and in form. A certified translation is always provided with a stamp and the signature of the officially authorised translator. This confirms that the translation is accurate and complete.
Do you need a certified translation? Then get in touch with us – we’re happy to help you!
Documents for certification at a glance
We translate private documents such as
- School-leaving documents, university and high school diplomas, academic certificates
- Work references, employer statements
- Birth certificates, death certificates, certificates of inheritance
- Non-marriage certificates, marriage certificates, divorce papers
- Naturalisation documents, residency permits, employment papers
- Police clearance certificates
- Identification documents (passport, identity card, driving licence)
- Tax statements
and business documents such as
- Partnership agreements
- Service and labour contracts
- Statutes
- Certificates of registration
- Powers of authority
- Interim financial statements
Is your document not listed above? No problem – simply get in touch with us, and we’ll talk about what you need and how we can help.
If you like, you can send us your documents up front via email so that we can assess them as precisely as possible.
No worries – your documents are in secure hands with us!
Satisfied customers
I am extremely satisfied with the translation service provided by Text first. The team is not only friendly, but also extremely professional. Communication is clear and efficient and jobs are always completed promptly. I can highly recommend Text first and look forward to continuing to use their services.
Very good translation service.
Prompt preparation of the quote and very quick processing afterwards. Many thanks for that.
Dear Ms Schatz, thank you very much for sending me the document. I would like to thank you for your very professional service.
Want to get a quote today?
Certified translations of private documents and similar – this is how we work
In charge of certified translations at Text first is Susanne Schatz. She is the generally authorised translator from the Schleswig Higher Regional Court for the languages Spanish and English. As an experienced translator for the legal field, Susanne Schatz follows strict official requirements and completes your certified translation with care, including all the required specialist terminology.
What does a certified translation cost?
Your personal documents are usually as unique as you are. Which is why we cannot provide a general or binding price here. If you allow us to take a short look at your documents, you will quickly receive a binding quote from us about which costs you can expect.
Our languages
We offer certified translations of references, certificates and other documents in the following language combinations:
- English–German
- German–English
- English–Spanish
- Spanish–English/English–Spanish
- Spanish–German
- German–Spanish
How we work at our translation office
1. You send us the documents (scanned as a PDF to be legible).
Please let us know
a) which language you need for the translation,
b) why you need the documents translated,
c) when the translation should be completed and
d) how many copies you need.
2. After taking a look at the documents, we draw up a cost estimate for you.
Please note that not only the amount of text but also the formatting effort plays a role in the calculation.
3. You accept the cost estimate – a short email is all that is needed.
We kindly ask private customers working with us for the first time to pay in advance. For any subsequent orders, you can pay upon delivery of the certified translation(s).
4. We finalise the translation and send it to you digitally and/or via post, as a registered letter on request.
Frequently asked questions
This depends on the amount to be translated. Generally speaking, we aim to deliver quickly, as personal documents are usually needed at short notice. Wherever possible, please plan for five working days for standard documents such as birth certificates or marriage certificates. For more extensive documentation, the translation can take a bit longer.
Not necessarily. Today, most government offices and institutes generally accept digital copies of documents. This not only saves you time, it also allows us to work together contactless. The certification annotation will note that the translation is based on a copy of the original. And heads up: please send us the documents as PDF files, not as JPEG or TIFF files.
According to the legal requirements, a certified translation of references, certificates and more have to be visually similar to the original. Above the translation, it must be clearly stated that the document is a certified translation. The end of the translation must also be clearly noticeable. This is shown as a line below the content of the certificate, which is then followed by a certification annotation featuring the date, signature and stamp of the authorised translator. The document, which was provided for the translation, must be stapled to the certified translation.
The authenticity of a certificate is confirmed either by consular legalisation or by the Hague Apostille, as it is known in Germany. Each apostille is registered, contains the issuance date and a unique number. It also contains information about the country in which a document was issued, details of the person who issued it (e.g. the notary), the place where the authenticity was confirmed and the authority that issued the apostille. The Hague Apostille confirms the authenticity of the signature and the authorisation of the person issuing the certificate. However, this serves as a model situation. The involvement of a consular official is not required for the issuance of the certificate. This usually saves time and costs.