Certificate Translations:
What you need to know

It seems to me that the most requested types of translations are certificate translations.

These translations include (usually) public documents that are needed by the government in order to receive some service and can include things like marriage certificates, birth certificates, and even death certificates.

But even though translations of certificates are more requested than other types of translations, it's important for translators (and clients) to realize that these types of translations aren't just straight translations.

Translating public documents also involves desktop publishing because part of the goal of translating is to make sure the translated copy is similar as much as possible to the original version, both in the meaning of the words and the appearance of the document itself.

And if you've ever seen one of these types of documents, you know that they are more elaborate than your normal type of textual document.

Pricing Certificate Translations
Because translating certificates involves more than just translating, it usually costs more than regular translations. Prices include the desktop publishing, and can even include mailing costs to send the translation back to the client. Often, these types of documents also need to be certified and/or notarized and some translators and translation agencies will charge even more for this added service.

What does "certification" mean?
The term "certification" is a slight misnomer because in the United States at least, there is no national governing body that regulates the translation business or offers official translations.

Instead, certification for the above-mentioned documents entails the person doing the translation adding a signed statement to the translation stating that the translator is knowledgeable in both languages and that the translation is done correctly.

Any translator can add that kind of statement to the translation so don't get confused by people telling you that you have to have a "certified translator" do the translation. Remember, though, that this is how it works in the United States and it is different in other countries.

Translating your own certificates
If you are thinking of translating your own certificate, you'll need to make sure that the organization requesting the translated copy doesn't have a clause stating that the translation must not be done by an interested party in the translation. If they do, you'll have to find an outside translator and won't be able to certify it yourself.

Here are some of the types of certificates that I translate:

• Certified birth certificate translation
• Wedding certificate translation
• Death certificate translation
• Diploma translations