Certified vs Notarized vs Sworn Translation

A certified translation carries a signed certificate of accuracy from the translator or the translation company that produced it. A notarized translation is that same certified translation with the signature witnessed by a notary public, and a sworn translation is a different thing entirely, produced by a translator formally appointed by a court or a government ministry in countries that run such a system.

The three terms get used as if they were interchangeable. They are not, and choosing the wrong one costs a filing fee and a week.

Quick comparison

| | Certified | Notarized | Sworn | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Who signs | The translator or translation company | The same signer, in front of a notary public | A translator appointed by a court or ministry | | What is confirmed | That the translation is true, complete, and accurate | The identity of the person signing, nothing more | That the translation is official under that country's law | | Says anything about accuracy | Yes | No | Yes | | Where it is the norm | United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia | Anywhere a receiving office asks for a witnessed signature | Spain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Brazil and others | | Issued by Eagle Translate | Yes | Ask us first | No |

What a certified translation is

A certified translation is a full translation of a document delivered with a signed, dated certificate of accuracy. The certificate names the source document, names the language pair, and states that the translation is true, complete, and accurate to the best of the signer's professional knowledge and ability.

Nothing is left out. Stamps, seals, signatures, and printed codes are described in brackets at the point where they appear, because they are marks on a page rather than text that can be translated. The layout follows the original so a reviewer can compare the two documents line for line. For the longer version, start with what is a certified translation.

This is the standard form for official use in the United States. USCIS, universities, credential evaluators, licensing boards, courts, and banks all work from the certification statement rather than from any government stamp, because the United States has no government license for translators.

What a notarized translation adds

A notary public confirms one thing. That the person who signed the certificate is who they say they are, and that they signed it in the notary's presence.

The notary reads nothing, checks nothing about the translation, and in most states is not permitted to attest to a translation's accuracy at all. Notarization is an identity check attached to the certificate, not a second opinion on the work.

That is worth knowing, because notarization is often requested out of habit. Some school districts, some county clerks, and some foreign consulates ask for it, and when they do the request is real and has to be met. USCIS does not ask for it. If the office receiving your document wants a notarized signature, tell us before you order through the contact page so we can confirm what is possible for your document.

What a sworn translation means, and why the United States has none

In many civil law countries a translator can be formally appointed by the state, and only that appointed translator can produce a translation that counts as official there. The appointment goes by a different name in each country.

In Spain a traductor jurado is appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In France a traducteur assermenté is registered with a Court of Appeal. In Germany a translator is sworn before a regional court. In Italy the translator swears to the translation itself in front of a court official, a step known as asseverazione. In the Netherlands a beëdigd vertaler is entered in the national register of sworn interpreters and translators. In Turkey a yeminli tercüman is sworn before a notary. Brazil runs its own tradutor público system.

There is no United States equivalent. No federal or state body appoints translators, and no American translator can be sworn the way a Spanish or German one is. This matters more in one direction than the other. A document going from English into another language, for an authority in a country with an appointed translator system, may need a translator appointed in that country. A document coming from one of those countries into English, for an American recipient, needs a certified translation with a certificate of accuracy.

We issue certified translations with a signed certificate of accuracy. We are not appointed as sworn translators in any other country. If your document is going to a foreign authority that requires a sworn or court appointed translator in its own jurisdiction, that requirement is set by that authority, and a United States certified translation may not substitute for it. Ask them directly before you order anything.

Which one you actually need

Work from the written instructions of whoever will receive the document. They govern, and no general rule replaces them.

Certified is what you want for an immigration filing, a university application, a credential evaluation, a professional licensing board, a court submission in the United States, or a bank compliance request. Notarized is what you want when the receiving office uses the word notarized in its own instructions. Sworn is what you want when a foreign authority names a sworn, official, or court appointed translator and your document is going to that country.

When the instructions are vague, the safest move is to ask the receiving office two questions. Do you require a certificate of accuracy, and do you require the signature to be notarized. Two sentences to them saves a rejection later.

Cost and turnaround

Certified translation is 24.95 per page, and a page is up to 250 words of the source document rather than a physical sheet. Certified orders are delivered in 2 to 3 business days.

Standard, at 19.95 per page, is the same professional translation without the signed certificate, delivered in 3 to 5 business days. Premium, at 39.95 per page, is translated ahead of other orders and delivered in 1 to 2 business days. The full comparison is on the services page.

You upload a PDF, the price is measured from the real document, and the total is shown before you pay by card. Online orders go up to 50 pages, and for anything larger you contact us for a quote. We work in eight languages, English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, and Turkish, and every pair between them, which the languages page sets out.

If a certified translation is rejected because of a translation error we made, we correct it at no charge, and if the corrected translation is rejected again for that same error we refund what was paid for it, provided you tell us within 30 days and send the written rejection. The conditions are set out in the refund policy.

Before you order

Read the recipient's instructions, then match them to a service level. If a term in those instructions is unfamiliar, the FAQ covers most of them, and the certificate of accuracy guide shows exactly what the certified package looks like when it arrives.

Once you know which one you need, start at /account/new. Upload the PDF, see the price before you pay, and get a certified translation back with the signed certificate attached.