Can you certify my translation? April 27, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Translation Sites.trackback
Certified translations are probably the most misunderstood concept in translation. Many countries in Europe have certified translators who have to take an exam in order to be able to certify their translations with a personalized stamp. In Germany they are called “staatlich geprüfte Übersetzer.” There is no such thing in the United States. To quote Denzel Dyer, “In general, a certified translation (in the US) is one to which the translator has added a statement that the translation is true, accurate, and correct “to the best of my knowledge and ability.” The statement may be made under oath, or “under penalty of perjury,” and may be notarized to confirm the identity of the person signing the statement.”
You do not need to be certified by the American Translators Association in order to certify a translation. In my case, I include my M.A. with my name and indicate that I am an active member of the ATA. You are merely certifying that the translation has been translated “to the best of [your] knowledge and ability.” Any translator can produce a translation which is correct to the best of his or her knowledge and belief.
Many times an individual will contact me and need a certified copy of a birth certificate for immigration or legal purposes. Just the other day I translated a birth certificate and vaccination booklet entries for a private individual. Another client frequently asks me to certify my translation of medical reports for a clinical trial. Depending on what the client needs, I add a cover sheet with my declaration that I have translated it “to the best of my knowledge and ability” and take it to a notary public, who also signs it and stamps it. Note that this declaration must be attached to the translation, with individual pages of the translation initialed. That requires delivery of the actual paper, so I usually mail it to the client. I charge a fee for the time I spend driving to and from the notary, the notary’s fee, and printing and postage costs.
Here are some possible formulations you could use:
I, [insert name here], a translator of proven expertise in translating German to English and an active member of the American Translators Association, do hereby certify that the foregoing is, to the best of my knowledge and ability, a true and correct English translation of the original German documents.
In Solon, Ohio, USA, this ___________ day of ______________________________.
_____________________________________________
[TRANSLATOR’S NAME]
STATE OF OHIO
CUYAHOGA COUNTY
I, the undersigned Notary Public, do hereby certify that [Jill R. Sommer] appeared before me and acknowledged that she is an active member of the American Translators Association and that she executed this document of her own free act and deed.
In witness whereof, I have set my hand and seal, this ___________ day of ______________________________.
_____________________________________________
NOTARY PUBLIC
I, [insert name here], a translator of proven expertise in translating German to English and an active member of the American Translators Association, do hereby certify that this document, which I have translated on behalf of [client name], is, to the best of my knowledge and ability, a true and correct English translation of the German document:
I, ________, declare under penalty of perjury that I understand the German language and the English language; that I am certified by the American Translators Association for translation from German to English; and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the statements in the English language in the attached translation of ___________, consisting of ____ pages which I have initialed, have the same meanings as the statements in the German language in the original document, a copy of which I have examined.
Does anyone have any other formulations they would like to share? Everyone probably does. Feel free to add them in the comments. I sometimes feel the comments are the best part of a blog post, because I learn so much from you guys.
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Good point. I find myself explaining this frequently to customers as well. Occassionally, customers are still reluctant and want to hear that there’s a government certification, but unfortunately, there is not. I have been using a disclaimer very similar to the one you have (inspired by yours, thanks a lot), and it’s always been accepted. And you have to love the Germans/Austrians/Europeans in general with their great certifications — very European bureaucracy, but the standardization is nice.
Thanks for the post. It was very helpful. I emailed the local US consulate asking what a certified translation is, but they only told me to use a professional translator and would not answer the question.
Great topic! This is so frequently misunderstood. Thank you for including the wording you use for certifying your translations. It’s very thorough and I think I’m going to change mine! Currently I use this:
I, Nicole J. Pennebaker, declare under penalty of perjury that I am thoroughly competent in both French and English, and that the foregoing document is a true and correct translation of the attached birth certificate, which I translated from French to English on this 22nd day of August, 2008.
________________________________
[signature]
I’d like to add a clarification to your post. Translations of official documents for immigration purposes (i.e. for USCIS – including birth certificates, the Justice Department, embassies, consulates and the police) do not need to be notarized. This is really confusing because occasionally documents for some U.S. courts and universities DO need to be notarized. If the client isn’t sure if they need a notarized certification it’s certainly safer to go ahead and do it. There is an article for translators on my website that explains some of the intricacies of translating official documents and the certification process.
Thanks again for posting such a great topic!
Like many European countries, Canada has an official system of translator certification. I believe Ontario was the first jurisdiction in the world (certainly in the English-speaking world) to introduce some form of regulation for the translation profession, back in the 1920s or ’30s.
Use of the reserved title “certified translator” is governed by provincial law and requires the holder to have passed the certification exam in the relevant language combination and to be a paid-up member of the provincial translators’ association.
Since a standard certification exam is now used across Canada, a certified translator’s stamp is acceptable to most federal and provincial institutions without additional notarization. However, I always advise out-of-province clients in particular to check with the intended recipient of the translation before placing an order.
Certification is offered only in language combinations involving one or both of Canada’s official languages (English and French). Translators using the “certified” title in connection with a language combination for which they are not certified are likely to be struck off.
The wording I use in my declaration is as follows:
To whom it may concern:
As a certified member in good standing of the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO) and thus, by affiliation, of the Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council (CTTIC), I hereby certify that the attached English document (# pages) is a true translation of the attached document (# pages); in witness whereof, I have affixed my stamp and signature to all pages of both documents.
[Place and date]
[Signature]
[Name]
Certified Translator [SL]–EN (Canada)
Actually, Jill, passing state exams for translation in Germany does not give you the right to certify translations. I am a staatlich geprüfter Übersetzer (through the relevant state testing authority in Berlin), but it is my status as a court sworn translator in Bavaria that allows me to certify translations. To qualify as a translator for the courts in Germany, one must meet various criteria, which differ in each German state. State exams or recognized equivalents are required in Bavaria, but in other states a degree in translation or a pulse will suffice.
Kevin, so why bother taking the test? I didn’t have to be staatlich geprüft in order to translate in Germany. If the test doesn’t afford you the right to certify translations why bother? Just curious.
Excellent post Jill, this is so often an area of confusion for translators and clients alike. I’m actually in the process of writing up an FAQ on this for my new website, I’ll post a link here when it’s done! (although based on past experience, goodness knows how long more THAT will take…)
Your certification is almost exactly the same as mine. Just a note to those in California (and possibly other states): California has very specific language that must be used for the notary part of the certification that is different than the language used by other states. If the correct wording isn’t used, they are not allowed to sign.
My nice local notary provided me with a copy of the statement he is allowed to sign so I could add it to my certification on my letterhead. If you haven’t notarized your certifications before (and, as Nicole noted above, it’s not actually required for US immigration documents, but some people want it anyway), you should consult your local notary about the wording you should use.
Hi Jill,
what you wrote about the ‘staatlich geprüfte Übersetzer’ is not quite true. If you want to be able to certify translations you need to be a ‘öffentlich bestellter/ermächtigter Übersetzer’. This, however, has nothing to do with you academic or non-academic training. The following link provides very good insight:
http://www.aticom.de/a-faq.htm#uu
Quotation:
“Was sind ermächtigte/bestellte Übersetzer?
Diese Übersetzer sind von den Gerichten besonders ermächtigt oder bestellt. Vor ihrer gerichtlichen Bestellung wurden sie auf ihre persönliche und fachliche Eignung geprüft. Je nach Bundesland werden sie in Deutschland als ermächtigte oder öffentlich bestellte Übersetzer bezeichnet. Sie erstellen Übersetzungen öffentlicher und privatschriftlicher Urkunden jeglicher Art und sind berechtigt, die “Richtigkeit und Vollständigkeit der Übersetzung” zu bescheinigen. Ermächtigte/bestellte Übersetzer sind zur Verschwiegenheit und Unparteilichkeit verpflichtet.
Übrigens sind “staatlich geprüfte Übersetzer” nicht automatisch auch “ermächtigt” oder “bestellt”. Die Ermächtigung/Bestellung ist von einer abgelegten staatlichen Prüfung oder erworbenen akademischen Qualifikation (Diplom, akademische Prüfung usw.) vollkommen unabhängig.”
Whether or not a translator wants to be able to certify the correctness and integrity of the documents translated is therefore completely up to him or her and he or she must explicitly apply for that function. I just wanted to mention that because we all know that ‘the outside world’ has a hard time even distinguishing between translators and interpreters, let alone between titles and so on. However, I think that translators and interpreters should definitely be familiar with the in-depth details.
Thank you so much for sharing this information with us, Irene! Very informative. I never jumped through the hoops, so that was definitely a Bildungslücke (for those non-German speakers: gap in my education) on my part.
Great point! So true that the clients are not always sure what they are requesting verses what they actually need. Thanks for the information.
Atlanta, GA
If one is a translator and a notary, can that person notarize their own translation?
No. That would negate the fact that the notary is certifying that the person is who they claim. You need a second person to notarize that you are indeed who you claim you are.
Thank you.
I’ve found putting things on company letterhead go a long way…