Not all sworn translations are equal. Moving abroad means that it’s important for find the right sworn translation service. Here are the challenges and solutions to finding the right sworn translation service.

What Is a Sworn Translation and Why Do I Need One?

A sworn translation is any officially translated document that is accepted in a legal or administrative setting as an accurate translation of the original text. These kinds of officially documented translations are used extensively when doing business or living abroad. Examples of documents that are most used for sworn translations include birth certificates, marriage licenses, academic transcripts, and employment contracts.

Sworn translations carry an immense amount of importance and are typically seen as holding the same legal value under the law. This means that sworn translations cannot be done by anyone who can translate one language to another. Translations that lack the proper credentials are automatically rejected by courts, immigration offices, and schools. Specialized work needs a specialized translator.

Sworn translations are typically overseen by official sworn translators. These translators are officially authorized by their country’s legal system to provide accurate and faithful translations. These recognized specialists use cutting-edge software, research methods, and terminology to provide faithful translation of all your documents. Your documents will be just as legible in their new language as they are in their original.

Are All Sworn Translators the Same?

Not quite. Sworn translations are regulated country-by-country instead of worldwide. That means that sworn translation services and the quality of who you entrust your most precious documents with can vary.

Many countries have systems in place to train, authorize, and regulate sworn translators. Other countries do not. Some countries require official sworn translators also belong to internationally recognized translation associations. Other countries simply want translators to have their documents signed by notaries.

Ensuring that your sworn translation service is transparent about how they verify their sworn translators’ credentials is crucial. Sworn translations in Italy, for example, don’t go through sworn translators. The translator in Italy has to get translated documents verified and stamped at a courthouse in the presence of a clerk. Each page of translated document is then charged a fee.

Common Barriers to Finding the Right Sworn Translation Service

Immigration processes are where you will find the biggest barriers to securing the right sworn translators and translation service. Visa applications, citizenship paperwork, and birth certificates all need sworn translation in order to be managed and processed. And that localization process takes time, expertise, and the right translator to manage it all. Delays, unexpected fees, and questions of credible certification are all challenges that you will face if you don’t have the right sworn translator working with you. And the sworn translator or translation service chosen will need to be localized in that country of immigration in most cases.

You will also need to ensure that your chosen sworn translators are trained to oversee the specific industry terminology in the language you are using. Some sworn translation service providers will apply a one-size-fits-all solution to documents. Other companies will charge hidden fees for more accurate translations.

Ask the Right Questions to Get the Best Answers

So how can you guarantee accurate, faithful, and correct sworn translation from the most qualified provider? The three most important questions to ask when finding the right sworn translation service involve finding out qualifications, delivery time, and what documents are needed:

• What qualifications does the service offer for its sworn translators and reputation? • What is the turnaround time needed for the translated documents and in what order? • Which countries need the original documents, and which just need the translations?

Some sworn translation services are backed up by a high reputation and thousands of satisfied clients who have used its services for a variety of translation help. Some independent contractors will perform sworn translations without experienced understanding of the legal requirements for the countries they are operating in. Translation services are not a place to try to save money.

Turnaround time and document requirements are also important pieces of information for all parties to know. The service you contract with for sworn translations should be able to juggle the different deadlines, priorities, and projects that you will need assistance with. And expert services will know which countries need which documents: originals, or copies.

A Single Solution for Your Translation Needs

The easiest solution to finding the right sworn translator is to reach out to a single reputable sworn translation service which offers prospective clients a worldwide network of verified sworn translators in many languages. That’s an important range to have when it comes to international processes that need sworn translations.

Knowing how to ask the right questions is important. Knowing the right answers is just as critical. Sworn translations should be left to companies specializing in recruiting top translators who have had extensive language training and the specific accrediting needed to be a sworn translator in their country.

In summary

A legitimate sworn translation service takes the guesswork out of the vagaries of proper documentation translation. And that goes double when working through the immigration process. A sworn translator and the knowledge of the company that backs them up can be the difference between a smooth process and one that is lost in translation.

Connect with the Author

Inigo Lopez is the founder and CEO of BiCortex Languages and BiCortex Translations. BiCortex offers language services in 89 countries and 47 countries, mainly within the Immigration and Global Mobility sectors.