Legal translation services

The cost of legal translation depends on word count, content complexity, language combinations, deadline, file format and any certification or official-use requirements.

We review these requirements before quoting so that the scope reflects both the document itself and what the translated version needs to be used for.

A certified or sworn translation is a translation prepared for official use and accompanied by the certification required by the receiving authority. It may be needed for documents submitted to courts, public authorities, universities or other official bodies.

The exact process varies by country. A certified translation generally includes a formal confirmation of the translation’s accuracy, while a sworn translation is produced by a translator who has been officially authorized or sworn under the relevant national system. Not every country uses the same system or terminology.

Before starting, we establish where the document will be submitted and what form of translation the receiving authority requires.

Turnaround depends on the length and complexity of the document, language combination, formatting, deadline and whether certification or additional review is required.

A short legal document can naturally be completed faster than a lengthy contract, litigation file or multilingual regulatory project. We review the material before work begins and agree on a delivery schedule that allows time for the translation and required quality assurance.

Start by checking what the authority receiving the document requires: the original or a certified copy, a certified or sworn translation, or an apostille.

An apostille does not certify that the contents of a document or its translation are accurate. It authenticates the origin of a public document, such as the signature, seal or official certificate attached to it.

The order of the steps depends on the countries involved. In some cases, the original document is apostilled before translation. In others, a translator’s declaration or official certification may itself become the document that is apostilled.

We handle the translation according to the certification requirements of the project. The apostille itself is issued by the competent public authority, so it is important to establish the required process before translation begins.

AI can support legal translation, but it should not be relied on alone for documents where wording affects rights, obligations, liability or legal interpretation.

Legal terminology is highly context-dependent, and an apparently minor change in wording can alter meaning. Confidential or privileged material also requires careful handling, while an AI-generated translation does not by itself satisfy any certified or sworn translation requirement imposed by a court or public authority. Official translation systems and requirements are defined by the relevant jurisdiction.

Where appropriate, we use AI-supported translation as part of the workflow, followed by verification by specialist legal linguists who remain responsible for accuracy, terminology and context.

Yes. Our institutional experience includes the European Central Bank and the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union.

Our ECB work has included English-Greek legal translation, revision and terminology services, while our CdT FL/EMBEDDED23 contract covers sensitive, non-classified documents for EU bodies.

For EU institutional content, we also take established terminology and institutional conventions into account, including the principles reflected in the EU Interinstitutional Style Guide.