Do certified and official translations need to be stamped?

Do certified and official translations need to be stamped?

Lots of our clients ask if we stamp our official translations. Is it actually necessary? No, not always – it depends on who the document is being sent to and what their requirements are. However, we believe the best practice is to stamp official translations.

If you are providing translations of civil or academic certificates to your new employer, the HR department might not request stamped translations. On the other hand, you may be submitting certified translations of immigration papers to the Home Office. The UK government does not currently mention ‘stamping’ official translations, but the rules seem to chop and change! In our opinion, certified translations should be stamped to demonstrate authenticity and professional standards. The best practice is to send a letter of certification attached to a copy* of the original document and the stamped certified translation. (*you may be asked to provide your original documents to the Home Office, but this blog is focussing on translations)

The certified translator must also add their credentials to the translated document as well as a statement confirming that it is a ‘true and accurate copy of the original document’. The combination of the letter of certification, and the translator’s credentials, stamp and statement is usually sufficient for the UK marketplace and Home Office.

Certified translations for UK and foreign authorities. We stamp your official translations!

Furthermore, authorities and institutions in certain countries, notably some African ones, definitely require certified translations to be stamped. Some authorities only accept original printed and hand-signed documents, rather than electronic ones.

Different countries, different translation requirements
Due to the range of rules across countries and authorities, banks, employers etc, you must check the exact requirements of the authority to whom you are submitting the certified translations. This is a very important step for ensuring your translations are accepted. We can point you in the right direction, but we can’t give legal advice.

Our clients
Some of our clients feel that stamps and seals make translated documents look more official. This is particularly true of clients hailing from African nations.

With this in mind, Translation & Secretarial Services stamps its certified translations! Our clients love a good stamp and so do we! Using stamps – both ink stamps and electronic ones – helps to ensure that your documents will be accepted. The stamp demonstrates professional translation standards. It also signals to authorities that the document was produced by an independent and accredited translator. Many authorities around the world expect certified translations to be performed by an accredited translator who is a member of an official body. For official translations, we only work with members of CIOL, the Chartered Institute of Linguists, and/or ITI, the Institute of Translation & Interpreting. If the translation is intended for foreign markets, such as France, we also work with court-appointed translators known as sworn translators.

We listen to our clients. If you want lots of stamps on your certified and official translations, that’s what you’ll get!

Do you have a question about certified and official translations? Contact us using the forms below. We will do our best to help.

Certified Translation Services

Our clients love stamped official translations! So do official authorities.

Disclaimer: Translation & Secretarial Services Limited does not provide legal advice. Clients are solely responsible for verifying their certified and official translation requirements by checking with the competent authorities.

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